India: In yet another startling revelation in Pench tiger poaching case, the full-grown tiger that was killed in Golpahadi in the core was poisoned in April by mixing pesticides in a natural water hole.

The accused in the Golpahadi case has been identified as Mukesh Uike of Shirepani in Chhindwara. TOI learnt about it during the court hearing. Officials admitted poaching of tiger inside Pench but did not know the reasons behind it.

On Thursday, forest custody remand (FCR) of Uike and his accomplice Ramdas Warkhade of Kolitmara in West Pench was extended by two days till July 15.

Meanwhile, the other four accused — Devidas Kumre, Babulal Kumre, both residents of Usripaar, and Chunnu alias SP Sariyam and HG Kunjam of Garra, have been sent to magisterial custody by Ramtek judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) MS Banchare.

Till now four tigers have been poached in and around Pench. However, there may be many herbivores too these fishermen may have killed. They themselves have confessed to consuming meat of sambar and deer inside Pench.

The Golpahadi tiger killing in April this had led the Pench officials to crack the case. Three other tigers on the fringes of the park were killed in last 4-5 years.

Meanwhile, the tiger bones and other body parts have been dispatched to Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, for DNA tests.

(Source: Times of India)