The directives came after a plea by the informer Umeshsingh Jhire from Mul that he is being threatened by the poacher for helping foresters bust his racket. Jhire had alleged that staffers involved in the raid revealed his name to the accused, who in turn has started issuing life threats to him.
Staffers of Mul range had seized 55kg of meat of Bluebull along with poaching tools from the house of accused Ravisingh alias 'Chaptya' Patwa on June 28. The poacher had shot the wild animal with a country made gun and was skinning the beast when the raid took place on a tip off by Jhire. Patwa however managed to escape with the gun and is still at large. Jhire alleged Patwa was present at the house during the raid, but some forest staffers allowed him to escape and also revealed his name.
Jhire had on Tuesday approached DCF Chandrapur and superintendent of police seeking protection from the poachers and action against the forest staff for conniving with accused Patwa. TOI had carried this story on Wednesday, and taking cognisance of the same, State Wildlife Board member Kishor Rithe had raised the issue with the forest secretary. So Pardeshi issued directives to forest officials to take action against those involved in the raid.
Commenting on the issue, director (central india), Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), Nitin Desai said, "Safety of informers is vital component in law enforcement. Police department understands the importance of informers and guards their secrecy closely. Forest department should also act on the lines of the police. Exposure of informers not only endangers their safety, but also jeopardizes future intelligence." WPSI is a NGO that works nationwide in the field of anti-poaching. Read the full report here.
Source: Times News Network, Chandrapur.
