Sambar shot by poachers at NFL

Tribune News Service

Ropar, February 11

Some unidentified poachers shot a sambar in the residential area of National Feritilisers Limited (NFL), Nangal, on the intervening night of February 9 and 10.

According to district wildlife officials, they got a call from NFL officials of poachers shooting a sambar in their area. Range officer Malkeet Singh said NFL security guards heard gunshots in the residential area of Sector 1 around midnight. The guards informed the Wildlife Department but the accused fled in a car. A sambar carcass was found the next morning with a gunshot injury, he said.

This is not the lone incident in the area, which has proved to be a haven for poachers. Locals said a fortnight ago, poachers had shot a sambar in NFL’s Sector 7, the residential complex meant for senior officials of company.

On Monday, more than 25 kg sambar meat was recovered from the fields of Majri village in the Purkhali area. Similarly, 1 kg sambar meat was recovered from Garh Bagga village. Last month, three sambars with their legs tied were found in the fields in the Nikku Nangal area. In November 2018, a sambar skull and nine horns were recovered from a home in the area. During summer, a video had gone viral on the social media showing some youths poaching a sambar with the help of dogs.

DFO Monika Yadav said she had written to the SSP to track down the suspects. A letter had also been sent to the NFL authorities to install CCTV cameras to prevent such incidents in their area, she said.