Three poachers held in buffer zone of Dudhwa reserve

SHAHJAHANPUR: Two weeks after golfer Jyoti Randhawa was arrested for poaching in Motipur range of Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuary of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, the forest department nabbed three poachers and two members of a timber mafia in the buffer area of the reserve on Saturday night.

The poachers were caught while they were attempting to hunt animals in Mailani range of the forest. Forest department personnel seized traps and weapons from them. The foresters were also successful in nabbing two members of the timber mafia from Motipur while they were attempting to smuggle a truck-load of timber through a forest check-post.

This is the fourth instance since October that the forest authorities have managed to nab poachers before they could trap and kill animals in the buffer area.

The poachers were identified as Devdhar, Sobaran Lal and Daan Bahadur — all are residents of Bansukhpur village in Lakhimpur Kheri district. Two accused arrested in Katarniaghat were identified as Ramjan Prasad and Pinku Kumar. All the five accused were sent to jail on Sunday.