Five poachers held in Dhauladhars

A Forest Department team arrested five individuals involved in poaching wild animals in the upper hills of the Dhauladhar ranges. Authorities seized five Sambar Thar carcasses and two guns used for illegal hunting.

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Palampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sanjeev Sharma stated that he received a tip-off about illegal hunting in the Jia Valley forest area. Acting on this information, he formed a team of five forest officers. A traffic barrier was set up on a road frequently used by hunters near Jia village. When officials stopped a jeep heading towards Dadh village, a search of the vehicle led to the discovery of two guns and five poached animal carcasses.

The Forest Department also impounded the vehicle, registered in the name of Santosh Kumar, son of Prithvi Raj. The vehicle was attached to a local power project and registered with the Palampur Regional Licensing Authority (RLA). A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed at the Palampur police station under the Wildlife Protection Act, and further probe is underway.

According to DFO Sharma, the accused had been active in poaching for the past two years but were caught for the first time. The arrested individuals have been identified as Vijay Kumar (son of Krishan Kumar), Vipin (son of Krishan), Santosh Kumar (son of Prithvi Raj), Jaspal (son of Partap Chand), and Ashish Kumar (son of Shakti Chand). Three of them are residents of Jia village, while the other two belong to Palampur and Khaniyara.