Mumbai: Wild animal meat seized by forest officials, activists livid

In a shocking case, which raises questions over the vulnerability of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) to poaching, forest officials seized three guns along with two-kilogram meat, suspected to be that of wild boar, from a house in Chena village, Thane.

Wildlife activists claimed that they had been warning the forest department of hunting activities inside Yeoor area. They have also informed them about wild boar, sambhar and deer meat being supplied during parties in Yeoor.

According to Forest department staff the main accused, Yogesh Jadhav, from whose house the items were recovered, is absconding.

According to Range Forest Officer (RFO) Rajendra Pawar from Yeoor they got a tip-off on Monday night about a case of poaching.

"We received a tip-off about five houses inside Chena village. So we decided to carry out a raid early in the morning with help from Thane crime branch unit 5," said Pawar.

When the forest team entered Jadav's house, his wife informed that he had gone to catch fish as per his daily routine. While carrying out the search, the team found one local made rifle and two air guns. "We found raw meat inside the refrigerator, which we suspect to be of a wild boar," he said adding that they have already sent the meat to the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) Hyderabad for forensic investigation.

As per forest officials, Jadhav seemed to have been alerted by his neighbours about the raid, and hence he escaped. "We have initiated a manhunt, he will be nabbed soon," assured an official.

Meanwhile, wildlife activists claimed that laxity of the forest department has resulted in rise of poaching. "SGNP management had been making tall claims about the national park being poaching-free. This case exposes their lies," said an activist.