Three weeks after Assam’s first rhino poaching case in more than a year was discovered in Kaziranga, the body of the suspected poacher was found floating in the Brahmaputra on Sunday.
Police said they had apprehended the accused, Saidul Islam (45), and that he later attempted to escape by jumping in the river, during which he appeared to have drowned.
The poaching case has led to a push to increase protection measures in Kaziranga. As a part of the push, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had paid a visit to the national park on Sunday night. Forest authorities said he spent close to five hours there.
Special Task Force ASP Dhruba Jyoti Nath said Islam, the poaching accused, had been apprehended by the STF and Nagaon Police on Friday and that the horn of the poached rhino had been retrieved.
“We had taken him to the location that night to understand how he had reached there. In the dark, he saw the river bank and jumped in to try to swim across… A body was found floating in the Brahmaputra on Sunday, and while family members have been called to identify the body, I am certain that it is Islam’s,” he said.
The poaching case came to light on March 26 when a rhino carcass was found by staff in Kaziranga National Park’s Bagori range. Earlier this year, the fact that no rhinos had been poached in Assam in 2022 was a cause for celebration in the state and for the government.
“I inspected areas close to the place where the poaching case took place, where (anti-poaching) camps are not there. On May 10, we will appoint many new foresters and a new forest battalion. I took a look on the ground to see how we can make more outposts in Kaziranga or how we can scientifically do more manpower deployment all over Kaziranga. We will make decisions on these soon,” Chief Minister Sarma told reporters after his visit.
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He also said the government would work on increasing patrolling in the rivers that flow through Kaziranga.
“Today I looked at the river properly, and we need to considerably increase river patrolling. There are several gap areas, so if we fill those up the problem might be resolved through river patrolling and river boats,” he said.
According to Kaziranga National Park Director Jatindra Sarma, increased manpower is a major requirement at the national park because it is currently operating at half capacity. He said that while the park should have around 2,000 staff, it currently has under 1,000.
The director said difficulty of access to parts of the national park because of the rivers and floods has been one of the issues faced by authorities.
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“The park is criss-crossed by rivers such as the Diphlu and Mora Diphlu, and in certain areas, there are wooden bridges to cross these. But they get washed away during the rains and floods, which is something we need to look into every year,” he said.
In order to address this, park authorities have requested the Army to set up three Bailey bridges in Kaziranga.
The national park currently has eight eye camera towers. Director Sarma said that the park has requested two more such towers — which stand at a height of 40-50 metres and cost around Rs 1 crore each — to increase surveillance coverage in the 430 sq km core area.
In order to boost river patrolling, the director said a proposal has been submitted for additional anti-poaching camps, especially along the rivers.
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“We have 239 anti-poaching camps, which includes eight floating camps. Since the park covers five districts, we want to put more camps in other areas. A lot of rhinos stray in char (river island) areas, which is why we also need small temporary camps,” he said.
