Summary:
Dehradun: A senior official of the Uttarakhand forest department has submitted a nearly 500-page report alleging that several forest department officials are involved in poaching in the Rajaji Tiger Reserve (RTR) and have links with poachers not just in Uttarakhand but also in places like Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The investigating officer has revealed that poachers, most of whom were residents of a snake charmers’ colony (sapera basti),were initially victims of leopard attacks. The snake charmers had a ‘maha panchyat’ in their village and decided to kill leopards when the government refused to help them financially. “Many of the family members of these snake charmers were attacked and killed by leopards. The Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Manoj Chandran who has submitted the report to the chief wildlife warden as well as a letter regarding the findings to the Uttarakhand high court, said that fourteen poachers and around eleven forest department officials including some who are in senior positions, were named in his report for indulging in poaching activities in Rajaji..