Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: On suspicion of being on a hunting trip at Saljini in the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary, 16 employees of the State-owned Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) were detained by forest officials.
They have five live cartridges, an axe, a hatchet, and cooking utensils taken from them.
At about 9.30 p.m. on Saturday, the sixteen KTCL workers which included drivers and porters from the Sanguem area were traveling in batches to Saljini in the Netravali sanctuary area.
The group’s actions made the on-duty forest department officials suspicious that they were going to the sanctuary to hunt wild animals and throw a party.
After that, a team from the forest department chased after the alleged hunting party and apprehended sixteen people. The forest authorities suspect that two more people managed to get away.
In addition to cooking utensils, the forest officials also found five live cartridges, a hatchet, an axe, and other utensils from the detained individuals.
Nonetheless, the team from the forest department has not yet found any hunting guns. Late at night, the group was taken to the wildlife division’s Netravali office, where a case was filed under the Wildlife Protection Act against them.
According to the Forest Department, efforts are still being made to find the other two escaped people.
