Arunachal: DEWS patrolling staffs nabs 3 habitual hunters, handed over to police
PASIGHAT ( By Maksam Tayeng )- The hard and intensive vigilance over nabbing of dreaded hunters from quite long time by field patrolling squads of Borguli Wildlife Range under D. Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary has finally paid off on Friday evening when 3 habitual hunters were nabbed from southernmost part of Borguli range (Kanyakumari area).
The three arrested are Makyon Modi, 46, Harish Saroh, 32 and Sunil Pait, 40 from Namsing village under Mebo Sub-Division. As per Naning Perme, Range Officer, Borguli Wildlife Range, the hunters were on their hunting mission inside the sanctuary but a special team of field staff camped at some distance upstream along the bank of river Siang saw the hunters and informed the other team stationed in a ready mode at Range office camp. While other monitoring teams from the same range who were keeping vigilance over the suspected movement of hunters from Namsing flood control sites opposite the sanctuary on the left bank of Siang river also passed on the inputs of possible sighting of some suspected movement inside the sanctuary’s Siang river bank.
After seeing the approaching wildlife staff, the hunters had fled inside the grassland/jungle, however they were later caught who had denied doing hunting and claimed innocent doing fishing activities. But Makyon Modi is a habitual offender/hunter who has already given undertaking to PA Manager/DFO in the past not to tress-pass or do hunting inside the sanctuary. While another person Harish Saroh is also a most wanted hunter by our Sibiyamukh/Namsing Wildlife Range for his involvement in many hunting cases in the past and Sunil Pait is their associate in all hunting activities.
Unfortunately, many villagers from Namsing had gathered at Namsing flood control area where hunters were brought out from the Sanctuary late at night on Friday for taking them to Pasighat to hand over them to police. The villagers were demanding not to take the hunters by saying they will bring them to the wildlife office the next day. However, the hunters were brought to Pasighat at around 1 am today and handed over to police. At the same time the field staff at the hunting site today recovered the gun hidden in grassland along with many live cartridges. A case has been registered against them vide Pasighat PS Case No. 88/2021 U/S 447/144/34 IPC R/W Sec/27(1)of Arms Act, R/W Sec/57(1) of Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
Speaking on the sideline of the arrest, Divisional Forest Officer, D. Ering Wildlife Sanctuary, Tasang Taga said that these hunters have been under the watch of his patrolling team as they were some of the most dreaded hunters. Taga also said that some elderly persons from the Namsing village were also lending their guns to the hunters and were misusing the WRD Pasighat boat used in the flood control work at Namsing to ferry in and out the hunters in the past. However, Taga expressed his thankfulness to Er. Gonong Pertin, EE, WRD Pasighat for handing over the custody of the boat to the D. Ering Wildlife Division to control the possible misuse of the boat for hunting purposes. He also expressed his satisfaction over the coordinated effort of all three Range Officers, Naning Perme, RO Borguli, Orin Perme, RO Anchalghat and Domek Koyu, RO Sibiyamukh/Namsing for successful execution of the arrest plan of habitual hunters.
Taga also appealed to the all likeminded people of fringe villages to cooperate with the department in protecting the rich flora & fauna of the sanctuary which is a common asset of the general public. Meanwhile, other three persons who had entered the sanctuary for fishing purposes for the first time were let off with a warning not to carry out any illegal activities inside the sanctuary and take due permission from the sanctuary management/staff in case of any urgency to visit the sanctuary.
