Constable Suspended For Colluding With Poachers

Hyderabad: The vigilance and anti-poaching officials of Telangana Forest Department arrested five persons involved in poaching of wild animals in Nizamabad on Sunday.

Officials raided a rice mill at Jokora village near Varni in Nizamabad district and intercepted a poaching gang headed by prime accused, Luqman Affendi, and four others. After a thorough search of the area, the forest officials found a Black Naped Hare, which was hunted and skinned.

The black-naped hare is a protected species under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act.

The officials also seized two rifles with a telescope and silencers, searchlights, binoculars, knives, torch lights and a Tata Safari vehicle used for hunting.

On enquiry by DFO Vigilance M Rajaramanareddy, Luqman Affendi stated that he had gone for hunting to the nearby forest areas and farmlands to hunt blackbucks but when he couldn’t find them, he ended up hunting a hare, which he came across.

Forest officials simultaneously conducted raids Affendi’s residence at Gudimalkapur at Mehdipatnam in Hyderabad and found meat, suspected to be of a wild animal, packed in plastic bags and stored in deep freezer. They also found two rifle butts.

“We seized the rifle butts and sent the meat samples to CCMB Hyderabad for identification of the animal. We have arrested five offenders involved in poaching of wild animals in this case. They will be produced before the Judicial Court for remand for hunting and other violations of Wildlife Protection Act 1972,” said Sunil S Hiremath, divisional forest official, Nizamabad district.

What came as a revelation to the forest officials during the investigation Affendi is a habitual hunter who used to invite his friends from the city to Nizamabad to consume meat of wild animals.

The five persons arrested include Affendi (47), his brother Imran Affendi (50), Shaik Raaz Ahmed (43), Mohammed Jameel (61) and Mohammed Shahrukh (23).

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