CHANDRAPUR: The mystery of the poached tiger whose skin was seized during raids by the local crime branch recently at Gadchandur, has been finally resolved. Investigations have revealed that the tiger was poached on the outskirts of Vempalli village in Kagaznagar range of Andhra Pradesh. Forest officials of Kagaznagar range have arrested the accused Anandrao Madavi who poached the tiger and had recovered the carcass buried in the nullah close to Vempali village.
Acting on a tip-off given by Wildlife Protection Society of India ( WPSI), a joint team of LCB and Gadchandur cops seized a tiger skin from the possession of six couriers on January 6.
The accused revealed that one of their relatives had poached the tiger on the outskirts of Vempalli village in Adilabad district of AP and brought the skin here to seek customers. Following the seizure of the tiger skin, officials of Central Chanda forest division took up the matter and informed their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh. Accordingly, a team of forest officials from Kagaznagar range reached Gadchandur and took details of the case from the police.
Following the information, forest officials of Kagaznagar carried out raids in Vempalli village and arrested the main accused, Anandrao Madavi (32).
"Madavi had put electrified wire to prevent intrusion of wild animals into his farm in the jungle. However, a fully grown tiger got electrocuted by the wire and died on the spot. Madavi then skinned the animal and buried the carcass in the nullah passing through the outskirts of his farm," said ACF, Rajura, KD Kove.
Taking cognizance of the incident, assistant director of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, a central government agency, Shaik Karimulla visited Vempalli with Kove and inspected the spot where the poaching took place. Kove explained that Madavi might have put the wire to prevent intrusion of herbivores and got enticed by the skin of the tiger died of electrocution.
Madavi allegedly traveled over 40 km on bicycle and brought the skin to his brother-in-law Bhimrao Sidam at Ambezari village in Jiwti tehsil of Maharashtra to seek a customer.
Kove praised the efforts of Kazaznagar forest officials to arrest the accused from the highly Naxal-infested area in AP.
"The poaching was carried out around three weeks prior to the arrest of six couriers. The remains of the tiger unearthed from the ground were fresh, but stinking. Accused Madavi had chopped the skinned carcass into pieces before burying it in the nullah," said Kove. He said that accused Madavi has been sent into magisterial custody remand after Kagaznagar forest officials produced him before the local court.
Police officials from Gadchandur are trying to seek his custody and are likely to approach the authorities in Andhra Pradesh next Monday to fetch him. Meanwhile, the six accused arrested with the tiger skin were sent to magisterial custody remand by Rajura court after their three-day long police custody remand ended on Saturday.
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