The Forest Department have arrested six persons, including an anti-poaching watcher (APW), on charges of attempting to sell a pair of elephant tusks.
Officials said on Wednesday that the six accused -- APW K. Samiyappan (30), a temporary worker with the Forest Department, A. Kathavarayan (50), brokers M. Sikendhar Basha (37), P. Manikandan (38) and A. Nanthakumar (39) and a security guard at a private farm K. Sarathi (67) were arrested on Tuesday evening.
In a joint operation with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Forest officials from Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) raided a pets shop on Pollachi-Valparai Road on Tuesday evening and seized the tusks. The raid followed inputs from WCCB, Chennai.
Investigations revealed that Samiyappan and Kathavarayan removed the tusks from a decomposed elephant carcass in the Pollachi forest range during a patrol. They intended to sell it to meet personal expenses, the officials said. They sought the help of Basha, who helped them bury the tusks in a private farm with the assistance of the security guard, Sarathi. The tusks were later stored at the pets shop with the help of brokers Manikandan and Nanthakumar.
Samiyappan had been working as an APW for the past seven years at ATR, the officials said. The six accused were booked under various sections of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and remanded in judicial custody at the Coimbatore Central Prison.
