Goemkarponn Desk
MARGAO: The Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Sanguem released on bond sixteen employees of the State-owned Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) who had been detained by the forest officials late on Saturday night on suspicion of poaching. They were instructed to report to the Range Forest Officer (RFO) for a period of five days.
The court ordered them to provide a bond in the amount of Rs 10,000 for each of the two sureties. Additionally, they were given a five-day period during which to report to the investigating RFO Devidas Velip.
Recall that sixteen KTCL workers were taken into custody inside the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary late on Saturday night for violating Sections 27, 30, 31 and 32 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 by carrying hazardous materials, starting a fire, and possessing ammunition.
During the search operation, the forest officers discovered cooking utensils from the KTCL staff, along with live cartridges, an axe, and a hatchet.
According to what is known, the 16 accused entered the forest area through the forest department checkpoint at Netravali while riding four scooters and a private vehicle, pretending to be there for a picnic. According to reports, one of the KTCL staff members recently received a promotion and chose to throw a celebration as a result.
But when they didn’t show up again that evening, the forest rangers became suspicious. According to sources, the forest guards discovered that the hunting party had started a fire and was attempting to cook when they patrolled a deep portion of the sanctuary. The hunting party was then pursued by the forest guards, who arrested sixteen people.
During their search, one KTC employee’s bag contained live cartridges. The officer noted that no firearms were found on them, but the employee insisted that he had a licensed gun and that the cartridges had been inadvertently left in his bag.
According to sources, the officers were taking the investigations seriously because one of the group members had an explosives hunting case against him in the past.
Bloodstains were discovered on the scene, so sources from the Forest Department say that searches are still underway to locate the other two escapees.
Six of the accused, according to sources in the KTCL, were living inside the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary. The group had organized a picnic next to a spring in Salgini and had brought fish, chicken, and mutton with them. They will, however, face consequences for violating the Forest Act since they were discovered using fire and cooking food inside the sanctuary, which is forbidden by the Act.
Ulhas Tuenkar, the MLA and chairman of KTCL, announced on Monday that the Forest Act will be followed appropriately in dealing with sixteen employees of the Corporation.