Hyderabad, Oct. 7 :    Hyderabad, Oct. 7:  The killing of a one-year-old tiger by poachers at the Nehru Zoo has sent shockwaves through the administration even as the government suspected the hand of insiders in the murder. Sniffer dogs were brought in and fingerprint experts visited the cage where 'Sakhi' was found on Wednesday night with her head missing and skin peeled off. The case has been handed over to the crime branch of the Andhra police. Investigators have left for Vishakpatnam, Vijayawada, Bidar and Nagpur to check out antique shops and taxidermists. Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, who visited the zoo today and went around the tiger safari enclosure, said there was a possibility that some zoo employees had connived with the poachers. Four employees - the animal keeper, the park watchman, forester and zoo sergeant - have been suspended. Ten of the 35 watchmen have been picked up for questioning. Naidu said a consultant will be appointed to recast the security arrangements in the zoo which is spread over 400 acres. The only protection the tiger safari has against poachers is the masonry wall of the Mir Alam water tank and an iron fence. Even the animals appeared to be in a state of shock and most of them refused to eat anything through the day. Karuna, the mother of the killed tiger, is still roaming the safari in search of Sakhi. The zoo authorities were stupefied by the gruesome killing. 'It is the handiwork of a specialist butcher. The tiger was killed with knives and rods inside the cage in the animal house and later dragged out through the corridor for skinning,' said assistant curator Shekar Reddy. Not only had the culprits used the water pond for cleaning up, they also dumped the body inside before they fled. The zoo has 43 cats, comprising six jaguars, two pumas, six panthers, seven Asiatic lions, eight African lions, four white tigers and over 10 Royal Bengals. Of the seven lions and nine tigers being sent to Andhra from Orissa's Nandankanan, only two animals, one white tiger and another Royal Bengal, have reached the zoo. The zoo is notorious for poaching, especially during Dussehra. In 1996, the zoo staff had killed a deer for a festive occasion and shared the booty among themselves. Last year, a peacock and several rare species of birds were reported missing. The zoo's curator, K.N. Banerjee, was kidnapped by his own staff two years ago, also during Dussehra. 'It seems the month of October is not good for the zoo,' said an official. Three days ago, a visitors' vehicle broke down in the tiger safari. A relief vehicle came two hours later, but not before the tourists had the fright of their lives with the animals surrounding the stranded vehicle.