Three persons were arrested for poaching wild animals in the Radhapuram Reserve Forest (RF) near Sathanur dam in Tiruvannamalai in the early hours on Wednesday.
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Forest Department officials said two country-made guns, explosives, a two-wheeler, nets, torchlights and batteries were seized. It was during a routine patrol in the forest that a team of forest officials found a group of men inside the reserve forest at around 4 a.m. on Wednesday.
Once they saw the Forest team approaching, they tried to escape in a two-wheeler, leaving behind their things. However, the forest team rounded up the suspects. “They have been poaching in the area regularly as they had come prepared with all the things needed to hunt and slice the meat to sell them in markets,” N. Srinivasan, Forest Range Officer, Sathanur dam range, told The Hindu.
Initial inquiries revealed that R. Sivalingam, 50; M. Dhanush, 23; and V. Bhoopathi, 23; were involved in the crime. All of them were from Thandrampattu village, located on the fringes of the reserve forest. The suspects procured the country-made gun from Kerala through contacts for hunting of small wild animals. They were regularly hunting in RFs in the area to sell meat of wild animals. They had poached wild animals to supplement their income from farming, officials said.
A case has been registered under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Later in the day, the trio were produced before the Judicial Magistrate in the Combined Court Complex in Thandrampattu. They were sent to 12 days of judicial custody and lodged at the sub-jail in Chengam town.