Nagpur: In a significant enforcement action, the Forest Department has exposed an organised scam involving the misuse of the ‘Local Quota’ safari booking facility at the Tadoba–Andhari Tiger Reserve, cheating the Government and depriving genuine local residents of their rightful access.
Taking a strict view of the irregularities, the Tadoba administration on Monday registered a criminal FIR for cheating and forgery at Durgapur Police Station. The Local Quota provision reserves a limited number of safari seats exclusively for residents of Chandrapur district. Investigations revealed that this benefit was being illegally cornered by agents using tampered and fabricated identity documents.
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31 dec 2025
The fraud surfaced after seven cruiser safari bookings made on December 19 were traced to five different local Aadhaar identities. During a special verification drive conducted on December 25 at the Moharli Core Gate, amid the heavy Christmas holiday rush, forest officials uncovered glaring discrepancies. Of the 23 tourists screened during the morning safari, nine were found carrying Aadhaar cards with digitally altered photographs and details, while ten others failed or refused to produce any valid identity proof.
Initial findings suggest that authentic Aadhaar numbers belonging to local residents were used at the time of online booking. These were later manipulated by digitally replacing photographs to match tourists from outside the district. Similar fraudulent practices were detected at the Kolara Gate, where middlemen allegedly charged premium rates, booked safaris using local credentials, cancelled them at the last minute, and substituted their own clients.
Following a detailed report submitted by Deputy Director (Core) Anand Reddy Yellu, and acting on the directions of Field Director Dr Prabhunath Shukla, the Range Forest Officer (Protection) lodged the formal complaint, leading to the registration of the FIR.
Dr Shukla termed the forgery of identity documents a serious criminal offence and issued a stern warning to both agents and tourists. He urged visitors not to fall prey to unauthorised middlemen and announced that stringent identity verification will now be enforced at all safari entry points. Any violation, he cautioned, will invite strict legal action, including treating offenders as co-accused in criminal cases.
Police investigations are underway, and authorities have indicated that the crackdown will be widened to dismantle the entire network behind the scam.
