: At least five persons were arrested from in and around the Ranthambore tiger reserve on charges of illegally entering the forest, carrying arms, poaching and a host of other charges. Officials say that at least three tractors, a gun, a wild boar an ATM card, a PAN card and gunpowder were recovered from them.
The raids were carried out by a joint team of the forest department, police and members of the Tiger Watch group. Officials said the raids were carried out after a tip off.
"The raids were carried out in Lakheri area of the Sawai Man Singh sanctuary adjoining Ranthambore National Park. Those arrested hailed from Ganganagar, Gwalior and parts of Mumbai. There were children and women in the group. Some children said they had hunted at least 10 wild boars," officials from the team said.
Reports about the group of persons doing the rounds of the sanctuary had been pouring in from quite some time. In fact, the forest officials were also tipped off about it. "Currency notes worth Rs 87,000 were also recovered from them," officials said.
Officials said that the illegal gun was recovered from the house of a Mongiya. "Mongiyas are often employed by farmers to keep wild animals off their agri," officials said.
Confirming the raids, RP Gupta, DFO, Ranthambore said, "We have arrested some persons from the Sawai Man Singh sanctuary. They were in possession of wild boar meat."
