Lucknow, Sep 19 (Inditop.com) Two poachers have been arrested alongwith three spotted deer skins and 50 antlers of the animal in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, forest officials said Saturday.
Deepak Verma and Muneer – both in their late 30s – were arrested late Friday from the Sadar area of Saharanpur district, some 400 km from the state capital.
“The arrested have confessed to having been involved in the killing of spotted deer for the last five years and supplying the animals’ meat and skin to their clients in various districts of Uttar Pradesh,” Saharanpur’s forest range officer S.K. Agarwal told reporters.
While the forest officials, with assistance of the police, managed to arrest two of the poachers, three of their accomplices managed to escape.
“The two arrested have been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act. They have given vital clues that would help in arrest of other poachers in different parts of the state,” police inspector Jagdish Singh told reporters.
Spotted deer, popularly known as Chital, is the most common deer species in Indian forests. Its coat is reddish fawn, marked with white spots, and its underbelly is white. Under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, injuring or killing a spotted deer is an offence.
