Count the Gir Lions, Now

6 Apr, 2007

THE TIMES OF INDIA -By Himanshu Kaushik

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/Count_the_Gir_Lions_Now/articleshow/1862812.cms

 

Junagadh, April 5: The joint team of Forest and CID (Crime) officials probing the poaching incident in Gir has got a major breakthrough — it has come across evidence suggesting involvement of an inter-state gang of poachers. This was revealed by a highly-placed source on Thursday.

 

Meanwhile, the Forest Department on Thursday transferred DFO of Gir (West), B L Shukla, to Gandhinagar and appointed B P Pati in his place. The department also appointed B G Rana as the DFO of Gir (East). This post had been lying vacant for the last 2 months.

 

According to the source, the dog squad and FSL experts from Gandhinagar have found footprints of poachers. It is believed that the gang could be the Dhoti Gang, for which a hunt has already been launched.

 

In addition to the footmarks, other evidence includes some empty polythene bags and wrappers, a freshly-dug pit to act as a trap, and some more remains of a lion cub, a hyena’s scull and a pair of deer horns.

 

The source said that these evidences had been found in an area under the Babaria Forest Range, where two poaching incidents took place within a span of 30 days.

 

The investigating team also believes that some locals could be involved in the act. The team has grilled one Dur Mohamed Bloch. This man is a former daily wager with the Forest Department, and resides in Babaria village. After the interrogation, he was shifted to Gandhinagar for a lie-detector test. The probe team has also interrogated his cousins.

 

On Wednesday, a meeting lasting over 8 hours was held at Girgadhada High School, where the top brass of the CID (Crime), senior police and Forest Department officials were present. At the meeting, statements of all beat guards from Babaria and Jamwala areas were recorded. The officials also took the help of Deputy Superintendent of Police (retired) R D Zala, said to be an expert in detecting crime, at the meeting.