A suspected elephant poacher and his accomplice were arrested in Tirupur district and produced before Uthamapalayam Judicial Magistrate Court on Sunday. The court remanded them in 15 days judicial custody.
The arrested were Mani of Varushanadu, reportedly involved in elephant poaching and ivory smuggling in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and his accomplice Ganesan of Chennai.
When contacted, Conservator of Forests Nihar Rajan said that acting a on tip-off, a special team from Megamalai, in association with a team led by Tirupur DFO Periyasamy, raided their hideout in Tirupur and arrested them. They were hiding in the place for a week, he added.
The team was in search of one Vana Raj in this connection. Forest Department sources said that Mani, who was acting behind the scene, had been engaging a gang for poaching activities in the forests spreading from Ooty to Idukki district in Kerala, also covering Theni. Two of his team members, Kubendran and Sendrayan, had already been arrested in this connection.
After preliminary investigation, they found that Mani was involved in various criminal activities, including elephant poaching. Officials in Kerala and Tamil Nadu had been searching for him. Continuous search and follow-up action helped the officials nab him, sources added.
Periyar Tiger Reserve officials had also been searching for him in connection with a elephant poaching and ivory smuggling case since 2014.
Kerala forests officials were expected to take him under their custody in a poaching case shortly, sources added.
When contacted, Vallakadavu Forest Range Officer Ravindaran said that one ivory smuggling and elephant poaching case was pending against him in 2014. The department officials would enquire him shortly, he said.
