The joint teams of the Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR) and the state Tiger Strike Force (TSF) have arrested two persons in connection with the beheading of a tiger in the core area of the reserve and found that the tribal man who had died by suicide after being questioned was the main accused.
The two accused arrested are Kamal Kumre and Suban Singh Bhallavi, both residents of Dhansai village. They confessed to having been involved in the beheading, hiding of the tiger head in a pond, and later throwing it on a culvert near the village on the border of the STR core area, director of the reserve L. Krishnamoorthy told THE WEEK.
He said Kamal confessed to having accompanied the main accused, Aneesh Uikey, who cut the head of the tiger after getting information about the carcass lying in the Dabra Dev beat of Churna range of the STR. The headless and decomposed carcass had been found on June 25.
The other accused, Suban Singh, had knowledge of the beheading and hiding of the head in a pond and later throwing it in the culvert. The head had been recovered on July 5.
Uikey had died by suicide on the night intervening July 1 and 2 and his uncle had alleged while speaking to THE WEEK that he might have felt pressured after being questioned by the forest officials on July 1.
Krishnamoorthy, however, said Uikey was not questioned or interrogated but simply called in to get information like many other locals including guards, grazers and those involved in traditional healing practices. Uikey, who worked as a driver in gypsy vehicles operated by private tour operators, was also involved in such healing practices. The director said this was the first crime of the accused and the confession of those arrested made it clear that it was a local operation.
Deputy director Sandeep Fellows said the trade routes (of tiger skin and other body parts like teeth) to Nagpur and Mumbai had been sealed and it became clear that no international gang of smugglers was involved in the case.
The director also reiterated that the initial assessment of the department that the tiger had died of natural causes was confirmed after the confession of the accused, who said they had beheaded the dead tiger. The accused had taken out the teeth of the tiger, which along with the axe used for beheading, were recovered.
“There was no evidence of electrocution and poisoning and thus it is evident that it was natural death. We are awaiting the forensic test reports for further confirmation,” Krishnamoorthy said.
Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey, who had demanded CBI inquiry into the tiger death and a judicial probe into Uikey’s suicide, continues to raise questions on the entire incident. On Friday, he said in a tweet, “Hunters found a dead tiger in the core area, cut and took away its head after two days and kept it back again in the core area. My question is that when hunters were engaging in all these activities in the core area, where was the STR staff patrolling team missing? Where is the postmortem report?”
The director said the village Dhansai of the accused was right on the border of the core area of STR and the villagers here used to frequently visit their relatives and acquaintances in two-three villages that remained inside the core area till about a year-and-a-half ago. The villagers therefore were well-versed with the terrain. He further said the accused confessed that the carcass of the tiger was seen by some villagers who went inside the core area to collect some forest produce and the information got shared.