Maharashtra forest dept nabs five poachers in Jalgaon for selling bushmeat, wildlife organs

Skin of a golden jackal

Five poachers have been arrested in Jalgaon district by the Maharashtra forest department for selling bushmeat of peacock and wild boar, reproductive organs of a monitor lizard and the skin of a golden jackal. The seized meat will be sent to the wildlife forensic lab at Gorewada, Nagpur for further analysis. The operation was made possible through the mobile tower location of the prime accused, provided by Jalgaon police officials, and the efforts of Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) of Jalgaon, Praveen Angusamy, along with his team.

On February 28, at 9.30 pm, range forest officer (RFO), Patnadevi Range informed RFO Chalisgaon about a tip-off from Honorary Wildlife Warden Rajesh Thombre regarding poachers moving through Autramghat, Gautala Wildlife Sanctuary. The information was shared with Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Mohan Naikwadi and Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (APCCF) Dr V Clement Ben, who then formed a team to act on the intelligence.

Reproductive organs of a monitor lizard

Forest officials received further information that wild animals had allegedly been hunted inside the sanctuary, and bushmeat was being sold near Shivapur village in Chalisgaon taluka, adjacent to the sanctuary. Following instructions from APCCF Dr V Clement Ben and under the supervision of Angusamy, a forest department team conducted a reconnaissance near Shivapur on March 1.

Angusamy said, "The team visited Shivapur and arrested three individuals. During the investigation, we found that they belonged to a community actively involved in poaching and had been in the area for five to six days. Thombre informed me that the main accused, Suraj, had been selling bushmeat (peacock and wild boar meat) to buyers in Malegaon, Nashik and other locations. We immediately shared his mobile number with SP Jalgaon Dr Maheshwar Reddy to track his latest location."

Three of the accused (in hoods) surrounded by cops and forest officials

On March 1, while the three arrested individuals were about to be produced in court, Angusamy received the latest location of Suraj, who was still at large. "As we wanted to arrest Suraj, we requested the court to allow us to produce the three accused the next morning, and the magistrate agreed. By then, it was already 5 pm, and daylight was fading. Our team rushed to Suraj's location, but when we arrived at 5.40 pm, he was gone - he must have learned about our pursuit and switched off his phone to avoid being traced. Our team, along with mobile squad officials, launched a search, and by 6.30 pm, we managed to apprehend Suraj and an accomplice," said Angusamy.

The last two arrested individuals are considered the key accused and are believed to know where additional bushmeat is hidden within the Gautala Wildlife Sanctuary. All five accused were presented in court on Sunday and have been remanded to five days of forest custody. Dr V Clement Ben, said, "We are also checking for links to other wildlife-related crimes."