Jorhat, March 13: Poachers struck back a day after security forces gunned down one of their ilk at Kaziranga National Park by killing a rhino at the world heritage site today.
The problem of rhino poaching also figured in the Assembly today with forest minister Atuwa Munda saying that six rhinos have been killed in Kaziranga this year, excluding the one killed this morning.
Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, Munda described today's killing as 'unfortunate' and reiterated his vow to take stern action against poachers.
Forest officials in Kaziranga said the rhino was shot dead near Tamuli Pathar forest camp under Agoratoli range of the park around 4am. Forest guards rushed to the spot soon after gunshots were heard and recovered the carcass of the male rhino. Poachers had taken away its horn. Two empty cartridges and two live rounds of .303 rifles were found at the site. A search has been launched, with forest guards and security personnel scanning the park on elephants for the poachers.
The incident comes a day after a poacher was killed in an encounter with security forces at Bagori range of the park. A jawan of the Assam Police Rangers Group, Janak Deuri, also died in the encounter.
The killing of the poacher was the first success after the state government launched an all-out operation against militants-turned-poachers last month. Kaziranga has witnessed rampant killing of rhinos in the last few years. Of the 32 rhinos killed in the state last year, 27 were killed in Kaziranga. According to the 2013 census, Kaziranga has 2,329 rhinos.
Munda condoled the death of Deuri in the Assembly today and announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to his next of kin.
A Kaziranga official said the poachers who killed the rhino today could be the same group that engaged in an encounter with forest personnel on Wednesday night. 'There were about six poachers in the group. While one died in the shootout, the rest managed to escape,' he added.
The official said the poachers were hand-in-glove with militants and ready to take risks to kill rhinos.
'The demand for rhino horns have increased in Southeast Asian countries. There has been tremendous pressure on rhino habitats in the state,' he said.
He said the new breed of poachers is armed with sophisticated weapons and ready to take any risk.
'Gone are the days when poachers dug pits and waited for a rhino to fall inside. Now they come armed to the teeth and are ready to engage in gunbattle. It's a war out there.'
Munda told the Assembly that 12 persons have been arrested so far this year for involvement in rhino poaching. They have been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. He said 65 poachers were arrested in 2013 and 47 in 2014.
He said the government is taking several steps to prevent rhino poaching by setting up an anti-rhino poaching task force, headed by the additional director-general of the special task force of the state police, raising two battalions of the Assam Forest Protection Force (another is in the process of being raised), and installing an electronic eye surveillance system.
In a written reply to AGP legislator Phani Bhusan Choudhury, Munda said between February 2011 and February 2015, 13 forest department employees were suspended on charges of negligence of duty in connection with rhino poaching.
Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Chair of Asian Rhino Specialist Group at IUCN, urged the government to take anti-poaching steps on a war footing by involving forest, police and paramilitary forces.
'Rhino horn trade should not be taken lightly as it could fuel strengthening of extremist activities in the region. The Union and state governments should work together to fight poachers and wildlife smugglers as part of national security,' he told The Telegraph.
He said the courage and dedication showed by Deuri and other jawans and forests guards needs special praise. 'The fight against poachers must go on,' he added.
Additional reporting by a staff reporter in Guwahati
