By IANS,
Guwahati : Police in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district Thursday arrested three people, including two surrendered militants, for their involvement in the racket of smuggling rhino horns.
Police is hoping to get some vital clues regarding the recent cases of poaching of rhinos near the Kaziranga National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“We have arrested three persons today – two of them from Hawraghat area of Karbi Anglong district and one from Dimapur in Nagaland. They were buyers of rhino horns and we strongly suspect that they have links with the poachers who were involved in the recent killing of rhinos near the National Park,” said Karbi Anglong Superintendent of Police B.B. Chetri.
Two of the three arrested persons were surrendered cadres of the Karbi Peoples’ Liberation Tigers (KPLT) – a militant outfit operating in Karbi Anglong district of Assam.
“We have information that they have struck a deal with the poachers to buy the horns. They were actually middlemen who procure the horns from the poachers and then supply them to those directly linked to smugglers or parties interested in buying the horns,” said Chetri.
“We are interrogating them and raids are also on at various places to nab those involved in the poaching,” he said.
Earlier, Assam Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain had indicated the hand of KPLT militants behind the recent cases of rhino poaching near the National Park.
A total of 39 rhinos have died in Assam this year due to floods and attacks by the poachers. Of the 11 rhinos killed by poachers, six were killed inside the National Park and five were killed in the neighbouring hills of Karbi Anglong district.
This has forced the Assam government to consider handing over the inquiry of rhino poaching to the CBI and deployment of Army and central paramilitary forces in the adjoining areas of the National Park to protect the rare one-horned rhinos. The government had also sent a team of elite Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) to the famed National Park.