Wildlife officials have arrested a poacher and have recovered 29 dead migratory birds from his possession near Chilika Lake in Odisha, forest officials said on Monday.
It is being suspected that the poacher identified as Alok Pradhan killed the migratory birds by poisoning them.
The forest personnel have initiated an investigation to ascertain the mode of poaching. The poacher was arrested near the Balugaon Balinasi area under Tangi range under the Chilika Wildlife Division.
Later he was remanded to judicial custody under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The security in the 1,100-square-kilometer lake has been strengthened by engaging a fleet of country-made boats and powerboats for patrolling, said the officials, adding that the Forest Department has also sought police deployment in and around the lake to prevent poaching.
Chilike Lake, the biggest brackish water lake in the country, played host to lakhs of migratory birds who made their flight to the wetland sites of the lake from the trans-Himalayan region.