Forest officials on Friday arrested a 23-year-old tribal man and seized 55 country-made bombs from him in the Poomalai reserve forest near Sathanur range in Tiruvannamalai.
The officials also found the carcass of a dog and sent it for post-mortem. They suspect that the dog would have died after biting one of the country-made bombs.
It was during a routine patrol in the forest when a five-member team led by R. Srinivasan, forest range officer (Sathanur range), found K. Jaisankar and his accomplice C. Suriya, 29, in a prohibited area of the reserve forest, standing next to the dog’s carcass.
Once the duo spotted the team, they attempted run away. Though the team nabbed Jaisankar, Surya managed to escape. “The amount of explosives indicates that the poachers regularly hunt wild species. A search has been launched to nab Surya,” Mr. Srinivasan told The Hindu.
Initial inquiry revealed that Jaisankar, a school dropout, is a daily-wage labourer in the tribal hamlet. As he found the income from his job inadequate, he and his accomplice have been visiting the forest to hunt small animals and sell their meat. He had procured ingredients from Kerala to make the country-made bombs.
The Poomalai reserve forest is known for its spotted deer, wild boars, peacocks and rabbits, and is a part of the Jawadhu Hills in Tiruvannamalai. A case has been registered against Jaisankar under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. He has been sent to a 14-day judicial custody and lodged at Tiruvannamalai sub-jail.
