Bantala: The incident of a king cobra being shot dead by poachers at Pandurisuni hills under Bantala range of Angul district July 10 has taken a new turn with two Forest department officials giving different statements on the postmortem report.
Local wildlife experts, meanwhile, have alleged that political proximity of the poachers is being used to cover up the incident and save the miscreants.
According to local environmentalists, poachers are active in Baragaunia panchayat. They use as many as eight illegal country-made rifles to hunt illegally in Pandurishuni hills and Nuakheta reserve jungle. Few years ago, two country-made rifles were seized from Baragaunia area as well.
This July 10, some of the locals had informed the Forest department about a 12 feet long king cobra being shot at Panduripani hills.
While villagers had brought the dead snake down to the village, Forest department officials reached the village and took it away. At that time the villagers had pointed out a wound on the hood of the reptile, suggesting it to be a bullet wound. They had also informed that the poachers had killed it while it was swallowing a goanna.
The environmentalists further pointed out that the Forest department officials did not think it right to go to the spot for verification. They even did not get the body of goanna for postmortem.
In the meantime, the sensitive incident like poaching of a vulnerable species protected under schedule II of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972 seems to be losing its sensitiveness due to political interference.
While the poachers have gone underground, word is doing rounds in the village that 20 to 30 people with affiliation to a particular political party visited an MLA of the district Friday, supplicating mercy for the poachers.
Given the political link of the poachers, it gains credence in the locality that pressure is being employed on the Forest department to let them go scot free.
Signatures were also collected from the villagers in favour of the poachers, an environmentalist alleged on conditions of anonymity.
Besides, the statement of a forest department official has only fanned the flame.
Quoting the post-mortem report, Angul DFO V Kartik said, “The reptile was killed after being run over by a vehicle, not by bullet shot. As per the report, the reptile’s body has no injury marks.”
On the other hand, ranger of Bantala range Dileswar Pradhan has something different to say. According to him, the post-mortem report has not come as yet. Nothing much can be revealed as the matter is under investigation. Keeping of illegal country-made rifle angle is also being investigated, he said.
People for Animals Angul chairman, Biplab Mohapatra said, “It is true that the king cobra was poached. The Forest department should investigate the case seriously and make an example of the poachers involved.”
Similarly, former Wildlife warden and member of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau Sanjeev Kumar Das said, “July 10 incident is a repeat of an incident that took place in 2015. Had exemplary action been taken against the poachers back then, the king cobra might have been alive now.”
When contacted, PCCF (Wildlife) and chief wildlife warden Ajay Mohapatra said direction for investigation has been ordered after getting a complaint through WhatsApp about a king cobra being shot dead.
PNN