adirabad: Forest officials reportedly grabbed skin, claws, teeth and whiskers from the house of a local poacher in Penchikalpet Mandal on Monday. On May 14, these body parts were missing from the corpse of a tiger found in the suburbs of Yale Village.
The tiger was about eight years old and was electrocuted near Yale, officials said. Asifabad District Forest Official Neeraj Kumar Tibrewal is supervising the investigation. However, the tiger’s identity is still unclear. Officials have not confirmed whether it is K8, the only known tiger with frequent tigress.
Sources show forest officials failed to closely monitor the tiger movement and inspect local poachers. They believe there is inconsistency in the events that led to the death of the tiger. Forest officials claimed the tiger was alive on May 13, while women from Agharguda entered the forest to collect Beedi’s leaves and found the body on May 14. Shockingly, forest workers were unaware of the death of the tiger-skinned dog until the villagers alerted them.
It may be recalled that four forest workers were suspended in January 2024 after the death of Darigoan Village in Kagaznagar Mandal.
The Ministry of Forest has rebuilt the crime scene, and the defendants determine how the tiger was electrocuted, skinned and buried. However, officials have not yet produced the defendants or seized tiger parts in front of the media. They should do this today.
Some defendants reportedly admitted that they were lying on the wire to catch wild boars and antelope. Forest workers have detained 8-10 habitual poachers from the villages of Agharguda, Yellur and Raspelli in Penchikalpet and Dahegoan Mandals.
Recycled tiger parts were found, hidden in the box of one of the defendant’s houses in Penchikalpet, according to reliable sources. Meanwhile, it has been reported that Chief Wildlife Warden Elu Singh Meru may visit the crime scene on Tuesday and may brief the media on the developments.
