Car, guns, cartridges, gunpowder, swords and several other articles seized from accused at Kabini backwaters

Mysore/Mysuru: Forest Mobile Squad personnel have arrested two persons from Kodagu on the charges of poaching wildlife for meat, at forest fringes.

The accused are identified as K.H. Suresh Kumar alias Girish, 43 and M.B. Madhusuhan alias Prajwal Gowda, 29, both from Koothi village, Somwarpet taluk, Kodagu.

One Maruti Alto car (KA 04 MJ 4989), double  barrel gun, single barrel gun, 14 cartridges, gunpowder, glass pieces, swords, six snares made of clutch wires, two torch gas cylinders, burner, tarpaulin, cooker, utensils and other articles, have been seized from them.

Following the death of a tiger caught in snare laid at an agricultural field in Agasanahundi, H.D. Kote taluk, coming under Metikuppe Range of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve forest, the Forest Mobile Squad had stepped up patrolling in the villages in forest fringes. The accused were found moving suspiciously in a car at Kabini backwaters area near Bheemanakolli Mahadeshwara Temple, in Bandipur Tiger Reserve forest, when the squad personnel intercepted the vehicle.

Upon enquiry, the duo made a bid to hoodwink the squad personnel, by stating that they were among devotees visiting Mahadeshwara Temple. However, the personnel searched their vehicle, only to find, arms and weapons and meat in the cooker.

After intense quizzing, the accused spilled the beans about, how they had set out from Somwarpet on Apr.1, laid snares at six places at the Palm Farm belonging to Horticulture Department at Kabini backwaters and spent overnight in the car. As no animals were caught in the snares, they were driving around, to lay the trap elsewhere, when they fell into the hands of forest mobile squad.

The two were involved in poaching wild animals since 2009 at Bheemanakolli and surroundings and were mainly targeting wild boars and deer. Later, they were burning the pelt using gas cylinder and burner and taking the meat home and splitting among themselves.

DCF of Forest Mobile Squad G. Rudresh supervised the arrest, that was executed by a team involving RFO K. Surendra, DRFO V. Muthuraju, Patrolling Guars Tirupati Pujar and others.