Coimbatore: A five-member gang of poachers from Kerala were nabbed by the forest officials in Nilgiris in the wee hours of Wednesday.The gang had parked their car in the forest outskirts and was in the jungle when the forest officials nabbed them. Knives and other equipment to hunt animals were seized from them. The forest officials also found a secret compartment in the car, which was used to hide meat from the poached animals.Forest officials said that one of their teams was patrolling in the O Valley locality in the Gudalur range when they spotted a car parked along the forest fringe.The forest team went inside the forest and found the gang of five roaming there. The gang members attempted to flee when they saw the forest team but were overpowered and caught. A forest official said they gave contradictory responses to the questions.The officials then brought them to the car and searched the vehicle. The officials found knives and a clandestine compartment in the car.As suspicion grew, the five were taken to the forest department office. Upon further inquiry, the officials found that the five had visited Nilgiris for poaching wild animals. The presence of the compartment to hide the meat from poached animals revealed that they were habitual offenders.The gang members were identified as Jibin John, Jijo John, Mohammed Aneez, Jobin and Shamsher. All of them were from different parts of Kerala.Forest officials suspect that there could be a few more from the gang who had managed to flee after spotting the patrol team, because a jeep was also parked near the car bearing Kerala registration. The officials suspect that the poachers had come in two vehicles. They have seized the knives and torchlights along with the car and jeep. We also published the following articles recently132 forest officers promotedThe Rajasthan Forest Department has promoted 132 Regional Forest Officers to the position of Assistant Conservator of Forest. These positions had been vacant for several years, with promotions pending since 2013. The decision to promote these frontline workers was made during a recent departmental promotional committee meeting. It is speculated that the decision may have been influenced by the upcoming elections.Forest Flame good at weightsForest Flame, nursed by Sulieman Attaollahi, is the top pick to win the Parimatch Pune City Gold Cup in Pune. Long Lease, trained by Rajesh Narredu, claimed the F.K.Irani Million in Mysuru. In other news, a group of Mexican and American citizens were attacked in northern Mexico, and notices have been issued to 102 institutions in Pune for violating government land lease terms.

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