Rhino horn, animal body parts found in Assam; 5 held

Guwahati, Sep 8 : The Assam Police and Forest Department officials, following a joint operation, have recovered many animal body parts including a rhino horn, an official said on Friday, adding five persons were arrested in this connection.

The five individuals were detained for having various animal bones, an elephant tusk, a deer antler, and other body parts.

"An Intelligence-based operation led to the correct tracking that led to the retrieval and arrests.All five were taken into custody from a house in the Baksa district," Sandeep Kumar, Assams Chief Wildlife Warden said.

He added: "We believe that one of the two to three rhinos that were recently killed in Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve may have had its horn removed.We are trying to determine whether the five persons detained were involved in poaching or were traders in illegal wildlife products.

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Prior to 1990, there were roughly 100 rhinos in the 500 sq.km.Manas National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but a protracted ethnopolitical struggle that followed in the Bodoland region of the state took a devastating toll.

There were claims that some extremist groups were involved in illegal trading of rhino horns for procurement of weapons.

Due to this, the park was demoted to "World Heritage Site in Danger".

In accordance with the Indian Rhino Vision 2020, a programme for reintroducing rhinos was launched and the International Fund for Animal Welfare and Wildlife Trust of India collaborated on the effort, which involved moving rhinos from Kaziranga National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary to the Manas National Park.

tdr/