Kilers looking for black bucks, spotted deer and other animals
The scorpio car of the hunters which was involved in an accident. (Photo: DC)
Hyderabad: Hunters equipped with rifles are on the prowl in Telangana and on the Karnataka border trying to shoot black bucks and spotted deer. After two organised gangs selling deer meat was busted in the state recently another four-member gang came under the scanner of forest officials and cops after they had a serious road mishap at Medak.
The hunters are lurking on Raichur road, Atmakur, Narayanpet and open farm lands in Adilabad where black bucks are available. Since most districts in TS have spotted deer habitats the hunters are having a good time. While forest officials claim that they have tightened vigil and that there are no hunting cases in the last three-four months hunters have built up their own mechanism to overcome the surveillance of enforcement bodies.
Since the habitat of black bucks are not wildlife sanctuaries and they live mostly on farmlands in villages they have become most vulnerable to attacks. The forest department has a good surveillance mechanism in sanctuaries but their vigil is very poor on village farmlands. “It’s true that there is no special mechanism for surveillance in these villages. However, we do have informants there,” said Medak district forest official, territorial, Shivani Dogra. With at least two wildlife sanctuaries and several areas where deer are spotted Medak is one of the vulnerable places.
“We usually arrange surveillance as per vulnerability. Most parts of Medak are covered in that way,” said Shivani. The border with Karnataka is also vulnerable as surveillance of both the forest departments is poor. The four-member gang from Hyderabad, who suffered the road mishap is suspected to have hunted deer from the borders of Gulbarga or Bidar.
The habitats of spotted deer and Chinkara are scattered. “Spotted deer habitats are usually wooded areas and Chinkara can be found in dry areas. They are not limited to specific areas,” said a forest official. This helps the hunters who can easily evade officials since there is no surveillance in such places.
Hunters belonged to Hyderabad city:
Sangareddy police has found that the hunters who had a road accident in Kakol village on Wednesday belong to Hyderabad. The cops also suspect that they are hunters with licensed weapons. Of the four hunters two were killed and two were critically injured when their car rammed a truck on the Mumbai-Hyderabad NH. Police found deer meat and firearms in their vehicle. The hunters are believed to be traders.
Police suspect the hunters must have hunted deer in the forests of Gulbarga and other border areas of Karnataka. Cops said they shot at least five deer. The dead men were identified as Ameer Saifullah Khan, 29, a trader from Humayungar and Md. Abdul Syed, the car’s driver from Barkhas. The injured were identified as Abdul Azeez Khan, 41, a businessman from Humayun Nagar and his friend, Md. Hanifullah Khan, a trader from Saidabad.
Police said that Azeez Khan was involved in hunting earlier also. “He owns the two .22 rifles. He has license for them,” said DSP M. Tirupathanna. Police sent the meat to forest officials to identify the animal. “There was no skin on the animal bodies. So we are yet to confirm whether they are spotted deer or black bucks,” said Mr Tirupathanna.
The cops have booked a case against the hunters under the Wildlife Act. The condition of the injured is critical. The police is planning to question their relatives to know more about their hunting.
Hunting on in the forests of Khammam:
Khammam district, which has the highest notified forest area and a wide variety of wildlife in Telangana is facing the problem of hunters. While teak smugglers are destroying forest cover the hunters are destroying the fauna. The arrest of three persons along with the body of a deer showed that the forest has turned into a playing field for hunters. Three persons were caught near Sattpalli along with a car and a gun.
The forests of Khammam is the playground of many hunters coming from Hyderabad. Readers may recall the famous ‘Marlakunta Feast in which hundreds of animals were slaughtered for the dinner of VIPs of the then TD government. As per the 2014 forest report, Kham-mam district had 7945.35 sq.km of forests. This is followed by Adilabad district with 7101 sq.km. Nizamabad and Medak together has 2731 sq.km forests, Karimnagar and Warangal 6,383 sq.km, Nalgonda 442 sq.km and Mahbubnagar 619 sq.km.
Many animals like tiger, panther, gaur, cheetal, chinkara, chowsingha, sambar, wild boar, wild dog, hyena, jackal, sloth bear and a variety of birds are present in these forests. Foresters are unable to prevent the killing of these animals. P. Prabhakar, working in Aswaraopet said, "Many people come to these forests with guns to hunt wildlife. There is no check on their vehicles.”
( Source : dc )
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