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Jorhat, Feb. 6: Poachers who had mostly confined their activities to Kaziranga National Park and a few other parks and sanctuaries in the state are now trying to widen their base in Upper Assam, targeting stray rhinos from Kaziranga.
This has come to light after two linkmen, Bikash Pegu and Kemona Doley, were apprehended on Saturday night from the Brahmaputra chaporis (sandbars) on the outskirts of Jorhat.
Source said the duo have confessed to passing information to poachers on the movement of three straying rhinos in the area.
Jorhat divisional forest officer N.K. Malakar said it was a new threat, as earlier no incident or any attempt by poachers to kill rhinos under the division had been reported.
Malakar said the forest staff had intensified patrolling to thwart the attempts of the poachers.
“The duo were caught by our staff when they were tracking the rhinos at Kartik chapori on the northwestern outskirts here,” Jorhat forest range officer Pankaj Kalita said. He said the poachers had paid the duo or had assured them of doing so, to make arrangements to provide shelter to the group of poachers and guide them to kill the animals.
The range officer said it was “very difficult” for poachers to come inside the Jorhat division and trace the rhinos and kill them.
Three teams of forest personnel were on constant duty to keep watch on the wandering herd of jumbos and to also track the straying rhino family from Kaziranga that had been moving across the chaporis of the Brahmaputra.
Kalita said it was understood that poachers, who find it easy to kill straying rhinos than those inside the parks or sanctuaries, wanted the exact location of the rhinos so that they could come at short notice to the spot and immediately move out after carrying out their mission.
He added that the gaon burhas (village headmen) and local people’s help has been sought by the department to keep an eye on possible linkmen and poachers.
Kalita said the five-member team, which was earlier camping in the chaporis on the western tip of Majuli, has now been shifted towards the east.
The straying rhino family and the elephant herd was also moving in the nearby chaporis.
Two more teams of seven men each, armed with .315 rifles and double-barrelled guns were moving along the Brahmaputra. Majuli forest beat officer Atul Das said the duo confessed to have come to purchase pigs to be used at a religious function.
However, their reason was not at all convincing, as both were found after dusk in a chapori.Das said the duo were handed over to South Majuli police station on Sunday for further investigation, with an FIR being lodged.
A police official said an investigation was on.
The official said one person was in his early sixties and they were trying to gather as much evidence before booking them.
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