It was 10 days before the last Deepawali that the tiger, whose skin was seized while being smuggled out, was killed in Pembi forest range in Kawal Tiger Reserve by the accused, who have been taken into custody by the Forest Department. The incident came to light as the accused confessed to the crime and led a team of Adilabad forest officials to the spot where the offence took place on Sunday.
The tiger skin was seized on Saturday in a joint operation launched by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Chennai Regional office, TRAFFIC India, an NGO, and the local Forest Department. The accused who have been arrested are Satish from Warangal, Inge Kishan from Gourapur in Indervelli mandal of Adilabad district, Prakash of Pembi, Rajendra Kumar from Secunderabad and Chintala Naresh from Hyderabad, while Munia, the sixth accused, is absconding.
The accused confessed that Munia, a farmer from Pembi, had noticed the movement of the tiger near his field located close to Pulgam Pandri village. He and the other accused set up a ‘trap’ of electrified wires to kill the big cat, according to Adilabad Forest Divisional Officer V. Chandra Shekhara Rao. The wild animal was noticed a year ago from the day of its death in Jannaram forest division of KTR.