Bargarh: The Crime Branch (CB) on Tuesday took the four persons arrested in connection with the alleged death of a tiger in Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha’s Bargarh district, on two-day remand.
After the court of the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM), Bargarh, allowed them the remand of the accused, CB sleuths took them to Bargarh Town police station for interrogation by a four-member team led by DSP Bilasini Nayak. They had earlier confessed to have killed the tiger and dumped the carcass in a pit.
The decomposed carcass of the tiger was recovered on October 29.
Talking to the media, ADG, Crime Branch, Santosh Upadhyay said since the court has allowed for taking the four accused on a two-day remand for their custodial interrogation, the Crime Branch IG, Arun Bothra, who is supervising the case, has left for Bargarh.
After their arrest, the four accused—Satyaban Sahu and Sushil Bhue of Khajuria village, Gouri Mirdha of Kudapada village and Jakria Tudu of Mundapada village, had told the police that they had laid a trap near a field on the outskirts of the sanctuary on October 13 to catch wild boars. The following day, they found a Royal Bengal tiger in it. Later, they killed the tiger and took off its moustache and nails after severing its head and then dumped in an open pit inside the sanctuary.
Acting on their statement, a team of Forest staff led by Bargarh DFO, Abhaya Dalei, took the accused to the spot and found the decomposed pugs and moustache kept inside a bag, a few metres away from the pit where the carcass was buried.
While the Forest and Environment minister Bijayshree Routray and Principal Chief Conservator of Forst (PCCF), Wildlife, Sandip Tripathy had claimed that the carcass was that of a leopard, had later maintained that the carcass belongs to a Royal Bengal tiger.
