Absconding tiger poacher arrested
Nepal: A joint police squad deployed from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) and District Police Office, Bardiya has arrested a convicted tiger poacher Lal Bahadur BK aka Raj Bahadur, who was on the run, from Nepal-India border in Banbasa, western Nepal.
The arrested was convicted of poaching Nawa Buddha, the first tiger fitted with a Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled satellite collar in Bardiya National Park (BNP) about six years ago. The convict had killed the tiger in 2011 with support from other three accomplices, who were arrested and are currently serving jail terms.
According to DSP Pravin Pokharel, the police during a special operation named 'Wild Eagle' had traced him in Simla of India on the basis of the information provided by his accomplices.
He was arrested from the border area with the support of Indian police.
The convict had been living in India along with his family soon after killing the tiger.
The young Nawa Buddha was translocated to Babai valley in Bardiya National Park from Chitwan National Park in January 2011. Few months after the translocation, the carcass of the tiger was recovered along with damaged pieces of the GPS collar. The tiger's body was recovered from a site where remains of two poisoned cows, which were used as bait to kill the tiger, were also found.
After consuming 80 percent flesh of the cows, the tiger was assumed to have died and the poacher removed invaluable body parts of the endangered tiger.
According to the CIB, with start of the operation 'Wild Eagle' the police has been able to arrest about 20 absconding poachers, limiting the absconding number to 91. The arrested will be charged under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and might be sentenced up to 12 years in prison.
He was arrested from the border area with the support of Indian police.
The convict had been living in India along with his family soon after killing the tiger.
The young Nawa Buddha was translocated to Babai valley in Bardiya National Park from Chitwan National Park in January 2011. Few months after the translocation, the carcass of the tiger was recovered along with damaged pieces of the GPS collar. The tiger's body was recovered from a site where remains of two poisoned cows, which were used as bait to kill the tiger, were also found.
After consuming 80 percent flesh of the cows, the tiger was assumed to have died and the poacher removed invaluable body parts of the endangered tiger.
According to the CIB, with start of the operation 'Wild Eagle' the police has been able to arrest about 20 absconding poachers, limiting the absconding number to 91. The arrested will be charged under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and might be sentenced up to 12 years in prison.
