Forest dept hot on trial of 'jumbo killer'

'Poaching Rampant in Athagarh'

Bhubaneswar: The forest department has launched a manhunt to track down the kingpin of an elephant poaching and tusk smuggling gang in the Bad amba and Nanasigure areas of Athagarh forest division.

The wildlife wing of the forest department said while it knows that the tusks Mugg ling trail leads to Kolkata, it is still in the dark as to whet- her an international conduit is involved. Some wildlife experts believe tusks have high demand in Southeast Asian countries.

The Athagarh division has been the lone forest division in the state that has turned into a den of wildlife crimes, especially poaching elephants for tusks since the past two decades.

Sources said poachers have had a free run in the area with alleged connivance of the local forest department. The forest department, when not in connivance, conceals incidents of poaching to escape action from department, they added.

M Yoga Jayanand, regional chief conservator of forests, said they have kept the name of the kingpin secret. "The kingpin is under our surveillance. He will be arrested soon. We have also taken help of Wildlife CrimeControl Bureau to crack the tusk-smuggling racket," he said.

He said from Kolkata, the department has no clue where the tusk goes. "The king- pin's arrest is likely to unravel the tusk smuggling racket." he added.

In Athagarh, forest department officials said some villagers have no work other than indulging in poaching and they are frequently arrested and then released on bail.

"Conviction in case of wildlife crime is very low because of poor investigation. The forest department has hardly cracked any wildlife crime. It is either the police department or the recent alacrity shown by STF of crime branch to crack wildlife cri- me that has led to the seizure of hide, claws, teeth, tusks and live pangolin and its scales," said Biswajit Mohanty, secretary, wildlife Society of Odisha (WSO), an NGO working on conservation said, adding that the forest department should in Vest iGATE the cases diligently.

The WSO said in past 12 years, 135 elephants were shot dead or poisoned and 147 were electrocuted. As many as 36 elephants have been mowed down by trains and six were run over by speeding vehicles. hackles. This does not include the carcasses that were exhumed in Athagarh and Satkosia divisions last year.