Probe demanded in two pending cases of poaching against CRPF
| Date :17-May-2019 |
Staff Reporter:
RAIPUR
Even as the Forest Department launched a probe on a National Tiger Conservation Authority’s (NTCA) supervisory visit report, incriminating Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in poaching and burning/cutting forests in Udanti-Sitanandi Tiger Reserve (USTR), two previous cases of CRPF personnel indicted in wildlife poaching remain unresolved till date. Now when the Forest Department has set the ball of investigation rolling, Environment Conservationist Nitin Singhvi found it the right moment to recall the pending cases with an appeal to Forest Department Assistant Chief Secretary (ACS) C S Khetan and Principal Chief Conservation of Forest (PCCF) Wildlife Rakesh Chaturvedi to also initiate action previous poaching cases while they are at it. CRPF has recently been embroiled in controversy as the NTCA report categorically indicted CRPF of indulging in hunting, extracting firewood from reserve areas and setting fire to clear the camp site, but their excesses in flouting Wildlife Protection Act and Forest Conservation laws have also been recorded in the not so distant past.
On August 3 and 4, 2016, CRPF 150th Battalion stationed at Dornapal in Sukma came under heavy criticism by wildlife conservationist when 6 of their personnel killed a 14-foot long python and clicked a group photo with the dead reptile. CRPF personnel killed the python when it swallowed a goat within the periphery of their camp. Later, the CRPF personnel also ate the python after clicking the photograph. A complaint in this regard was lodged with the PCCF WL on July 4, 2016 by Singhvi.
In response, PCCF-WL ordered CCF-WL and Field Director (FD) Indrawati Tiger Reserve (ITR) to submit a report within a month. Thereafter, two reminders were sent respectively on September 1, 2019, and October 13, 2016, yet to reply was furnished. Neither CCF-WL nor FD ITR submitted the sought memorandum nor did they record testimony of villagers, personnel, and subordinate forest employees. The second pending case of poaching of a wild boar was reported on March 25, 2017, when three CRPF 80th Battalion personnel were arrested by Forest officials. The Boar carcass was recovered from a Bolero car with two separate registrations plate (AX-01-AI-8436) at front and (CG-17-L-4633) on back. Autopsy report of the boar revealed that the carcass had multiple bullet and arrow injuries. If these cases are any indicators, one can only imagine how many such poaching cases go unnoticed or simply brushed under the carpet.