A 28-year-old man was arrested by Forest Department officials for illegally entering the Sorakolathur reserve forest (RF) with knives and meat near Tiruvannamalai town on Tuesday night. His accomplice is on the run.
Officials said the forest squad seized raw meat laced with chemicals, a two-wheeler and knives from D. Ramu, a resident of Sorakolathur hamlet on the fringes of the RF. Upon an alert, a three-member team led by forest range officer (FRO) M. Srinivasan was patrolling and carrying out vehicle checks and surveillance.
Around 6.30 p.m on Tuesday, they intercepted a duo on a two-wheeler with a bag, inside the RF. After seeing the forest team, the pillion rider, who was identified as R. Johnson from the same hamlet, jumped from the vehicle and fled. The team nabbed the rider D. Ramu, with raw meat and knives.
A case has been registered under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. “The search was based on a specific alert that meat of wild animals was being sold in the forest fringe areas. His accomplice will be arrested soon,” M. Srinivasan, forest range officer (Tiruvannamalai range), told The Hindu.
RFs in the district are fragmented by plantations that are in the fringes where animals roam searching for food and water. They turn out to be the hunting ground for poachers. Increasing incidents of animals straying into human habitations, mainly for water and increase in their population, also help poachers hunt wild animals without entering the RFs, officials said.
