It seems missing camera traps continue to pose headaches to the Ranni Forest Division. Having been at the receiving end of an alleged custodial death case, which began as a camera-trap theft case, the forest officials here have now unearthed more such incidents in the division.
As many as six out of the 312 cameras installed in the division, which spreads over an area of 1,059 square kilometres, have gone missing from the forests here over the past one month alone. The unusual rise in the number of thefts came to light as the authorities recently began analysing the operation of its camera network here in the backdrop of the Chittar episode, which led to the death of P.P. Mathai. The 41- year-old farmer had been taken into custody by the forest officials for allegedly damaging a camera trap on the forest fringes.
Taking a serious note of the situation, P.K. Jayakumar Sharma, Divisional Forest officer, Ranni, has now chalked out a plan to intensify patrolling inside the forests. He attributes the rising thefts to a strategy by unauthorised entrants to keep themselves out of the picture that may prove their involvement in a forest crime.
“The thefts came to light while inspecting the camera traps under the Gurunathanmannu forest station the other day. Similar cases were also reported from the Murthimannu forests a couple of weeks ago,” the official said.
The installation of camera traps in the forest division here followed a similar project in the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR). “The Ranni Forest Division is an an extension of the PTR belt and cameras were installed here to monitor wildlife. Overtime, it has also evolved as an essential go-to item for checking any possible wrongdoings, including poaching,” the official added.
Meanwhile, a senior forest official said retrieving the lost cameras were indeed a challenge. “Since we have to account for the loss, we always file police complaints, but they are reluctant to act,” the official added.