Kerala - Kochi   

Hand over poaching cases to CBI, says authority

In danger: The Forest Department often seizes tiger skins in the State. However, it is not known if tigers are poached in Kerala forests.

KOCHI: The National Tiger Conservation Authority has asked the State Government to hand over the recent cases of seizure of tiger skins to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), considering their inter-State, national and international ramifications.

The Government had earlier handed over some cases to the CBI.

The authority will do follow-up in the recent cases also, said its member-secretary, Rajesh Gopal.

In a fax message to the Principal Secretary, Forests, Dr. Gopal said the cases should be transferred to the Special Crime Unit of the CBI Delhi unit, which had all-India jurisdiction.

The Forest Department’s Vigilance wing recently seized a few tiger skins from some parts of the State. One of them was seized from Kalady, near Kochi, on Friday evening.

Dr. Gopal said tiger poaching was going on. But one could not say if there was an increase in the number of incidents based on the recent seizures.

There was demand for tiger skin and other organs abroad. The authority was taking pro-active measures to curb poaching. The formation of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau was a step in that direction, Dr. Gopal said.

The traders were luring people with fake skins, creating a demand for pelts. This was a matter of concern and the authority was planning to put in place some legal measures to curb the practice, he said.

V. Gopinath, Chief Conservator of Forest (Vigilance), said the Vigilance Wing recently stepped up the intelligence-gathering system and this had started yielding results. Though the tiger skins were seized in the State, one could not say if they were poached in Kerala. However, poaching was taking place in South India, Mr. Gopinath said.

Dr. Gopal said the authority would approach the State Government for getting more staff posted to the Periyar Tiger Reserve, Thekkady, considering the fact that there had been a shortage of staff in the reserve.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Struggling to keep the charm intact Tourism Trail
Hand over poaching cases to CBI, says authority
Graft will be tackled, says Minister
Bid to end graft in road works
Master plan: move to seek Government help
Yuva Morcha rally on September 14
Talk organised
Aircrash: body of victim taken to Ponkunnam
Homoeopaths flay move to recognise all practitioners
Station masters to stage dharna
Residents organise clean-up
Coordination panel flays move to import fish
Kochi Today

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu