Three poachers who entered the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve on Friday night, after hunting two chitals, snatched the rifle from the forest department team and escaped.
Three poachers entered the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve on Friday night, snatched a rifle from the forest department team, and escaped after hunting two chitals.
Superintendent of Police Avinash Pandey said here on Saturday that police teams from Gajraula, SOG, and other units have been sent to the spot. The police, along with the forest department team, are conducting a combing operation in the forest to locate the suspects.
Pilibhit Tiger Reserve Deputy Director Manish Singh said that upon receiving information about the poachers, a forest department team arrived at the scene on Saturday morning. Another poacher, sitting on a tree, snatched the rifle of the forest department staff.
He added that the incident is under investigation and action is being taken. Following the incident, police forces from several police stations are working with the forest department to search for the poachers in the forest.
According to forest department officials, the incident occurred in the Mala Range of the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve. On Friday night, motorcycle-borne poachers entered the forest and hunted two chitals. When the forest department team went to patrol the area, it found two youths on motorcycles who started their bikes and fled.
During the subsequent search, the forest department team recovered chital meat from the forest.
On Saturday morning, while combing the forest, a poacher sitting on a tree jumped down and snatched a rifle from forest guard Jitendra Singh.
According to the forest officer, during the search, the SOG team found the butt of a gun on the road.