3 held for poaching 'sambar' ahead of Holi

Nagpur: Two days ahead of Holi, three villagers have been arrested for poaching a sambar on Tuesday in Pathrai under Paoni territorial forest range, 60km from here on NH7.
On the occasion of Holi padwa on March 6, wild animals are hunted for meat by tribals and poachers in forest areas. There is patrolling by the staff on March 5 and 6 to curb poaching, yet such incidents take place regularly.
According to sources, the herbivore was electrocuted by a farmer Khemraj Jairam Dhurve (45) of Ambazari. Acting on a tip-off, a team led by forester MD Kirpan and SN Kerwar raided Pathrai village and caught two persons red-handed while cooking meat in the night.
The accused were identified as Sanjay Laxman Idpachi (36) and Ravindra Shravan Warkhade (36), both from Pathrai. Idapachi and Warkhade told TOI that Khemraj killed the sambar. They two were involved in only consuming the meat.
However, killing a wild animal and even possessing its meat is a crime under the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) 1972. The forest staff has seized sambar skin and electric wires laid to kill the animal.
All the three accused were on Wednesday produced before judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), Ramtek, who granted forest custody for them till March 7.