Nagpur: The Forest Department has arrested four persons in connection with the death of a tiger reported in Pench Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, on Thursday. Carcass of the tiger was found in Kodu Talav in the protected forest of Compartment No 256 of Sillari beat in Paoni Unified Buffer Range.
On Thursday late evening, three offenders were caught from Ghoti village. On Friday late evening, one more accused was taken under custody and arrested later on. The post-mortem of the carcass was carried out as per Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in presence of A Sreelakshmi, Field Director; Dr Prabhu Nath Shukla, Deputy Director; Atul Deokar, Assistant Conservator of Forest; Dr Sujit Kolangat, Veterinary Officer; and Dr Sachin Kamboj. Bandu Uikey from Satpuda Foundation also was present as NTCA representative while Ajinkya Bhatkar represented Chief Wildlife Warden, Maharashtra State. The arrested accused were produced before Judicial Magistrate First Class, Ramtek.
The court granted forest custody of the accused for three days. Under the guidance of A Sreelakshmi, and Dr Prabhu Nath Shukla, further investigation is being conducted by Atul Deokar, and Jayesh Tayde, Range Forest Officers.
