Kaziranga, Assam: Three alleged rhino poachers were arrested, while one surrendered to officials last Saturday, from a village on the fringe of the Kaziranga National Park providing a breakthrough to the beleagured park staff. 14 rhinos have been killed by poachers this year, 10 of them inside the park .

Acting on a tip-off provided by a village based intelligence unit , a team of forest officials led by Ekramul Mazid, Range officer of the Burapahar Wildlife range raided the house of Sikari Signer early on Saturday in the Fulaguri Christian basti close to the boundary of the park . This is the second incident where villagers have given information that has led to the arrest of a poacher. Sikari Signer is alleged to be the leader of a poaching gang and is believed to have been involved in several poaching cases in the past.


He allegedly confessed his involvement in the shoot out with the park staff on July 11 this year where one poacher was killed, while he and another team member managed to escape. The clues found by the investigating team from the location of the shoot-out helped confirm suspicions raised by village informers.

Following his interrogation all other members of his team were also arrested and they allegedly confessed their involvement in the poaching official sources said. ” The confessions have been recorded on video and will be produced as evidence in the court ,” a senior officer said. The two others arrested were Longsing Lekkthe from Fulaguri village and Rongbong Engti from Amguri village and belong to the Karbi tribe from the neighbouring Karbi Anglong district.

The fourth accused , Jabli Rongpi , surrendered to the forest office rs on the same day. He owns a grocery shop in the village and is believed to have supplied rations to the alleged gang . Further raids are on in the neighbouring villages to catch the rest of the gang.