Poachers kill 2 common cranes, a blue bull in Kutch at the beginning of bird migration season

“Upon inspecting their gypsy, our team found carcasses of a blue bull and two common cranes loaded on it with the arrested accused claiming that they had poached the animal and birds for self-consumption,” Hardeepsin Parmar, police sub-inspector (PSI) of Nirona, told the Indian Express Tuesday.

Based on a complaint filed by Swaraj Gadhvi, a constable who was part of the police team which chased poachers, an offence has been registered under the Arms Act at Nirona police station. The FIR names Maman, 33, a resident of Nana Varnora village in Kutch, his distant relative Jabar Mer of Nana Varnora, and friends Javed Gagada and Izaz Maman – both residents of Bhuj town, the district headquarters of Kutch.

“Saleman is a casual labourer and has previously faced cases under the Arms Act, gambling act, and other bodily offences. During interrogation, he gave the names of the fellow three accused and claimed that they had poached the blue bull and two cranes for self-consumption. However, he couldn’t produce any license to keep arms and so he and four others have been booked under the Arms Act while the forest department has registered a separate offence of poaching,” Parmar further said.

After arresting him formally, the police produced Maman in a court in Nakhatrana town of Kutch Monday, seeking his remand. The court sent the accused to police custody for three days. “The three other accused are still on the run and efforts are being made to arrest them,” the PSI added.

Meanwhile, Bharat Patel, deputy conservator of forests (DCF) of Banni, said a first offence report (FOR) has been filed against the four men at the Sarado range office of Banni forest division for hunting a blue bull and two common cranes. “They shot dead a male blue bull and two common cranes. We are told they poached the animal and birds from the Chhari Dhand conservation reserve which falls in the Tuga Luna range. However, as they were nabbed near Shervo in the Sarada range, the FOR has been registered at Sarada… But if the investigation establishes that the poaching was done inside the conservation reserve, we will proceed against the accused accordingly,” said the DCF.

Chhari Dhand is a natural lake that attracts migratory birds including common cranes and demoiselle cranes which migrate from their breeding grounds in central Asia to escape the harsh winter there and land in warmer climes of western India, including Kutch. “The grassland and wetland provide cranes food and space for resting during winter,” Patel said, adding, “migratory cranes have started arriving in Banni since mid-October.”