3 suspected rhino poachers held in Assam, firearm parts seized

The accused were allegedly planning to poach rhinos in the Kaziranga National Park KNP, they said. Ghosh said that in the earlier wildlife offence case, forest officials had recovered a .303 rifle along with 13 rounds of ammunition from the Gopaljarani area near Kaziranga.

Three suspected poachers were apprehended from Assam's Lakhimpur district on Sunday, officials said. The accused were allegedly planning to poach rhinos in the Kaziranga National Park (KNP), they said. KNP director Sonali Ghosh said the arrests were made from Narayanpur, in a joint operation by forest officials of the Eastern Range, Gamiri, and the Crime Investigation Range of the Biswanath Wildlife Division of the park, based on intelligence inputs. ''The operation was conducted in connection with a wildlife offence case registered in March. The accused were planning rhino poaching in the sixth addition area of the national park,'' she said. During the operation, forest teams also recovered parts of a country-made firearm, including a rifle bolt and butt without a magazine, from Ukhal Chuk in Majuli district, she added. The three accused are residents of Majuli, Lakhimpur and Biswanath districts. Ghosh said that in the earlier wildlife offence case, forest officials had recovered a .303 rifle along with 13 rounds of ammunition from the Gopaljarani area near Kaziranga. Forest authorities suspect the involvement of a larger poaching network.