Chamarajanagar: Forest officials from the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) and Gopalaswamy Betta Range of Bandipur Tiger Reserve have arrested three men for allegedly attempting to sell tiger teeth and a claw.
The officials seized four tiger canine teeth, two molar teeth, one tiger claw and an autorickshaw from the accused.
Forest team conducts operation
According to forest officials, the team received specific information that three people were allegedly attempting to sell tiger parts from an autorickshaw.
Acting on the information, officials approached the suspects posing as prospective buyers and examined the wildlife articles in their possession. After confirming that the teeth and claw were genuine tiger parts, the team arrested all three and seized the items.
Three accused arrested
The accused have been identified as Mahadeva, son of Jadi, from Hosapodu Hadi in Chamarajanagar; Ramesh, son of Aluvayya, from Mavattur; and Mani, son of Ramu, from Vadeyarapalya.
Forest officials said the three had previously been involved in minor forest offences, including alleged sandalwood theft, and had been arrested and subsequently released.
A case has been registered against the accused under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Joint team carries out operation
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Shubham Singh Tanwar, in-charge Director of Bandipur Tiger Reserve and DCF.
The team included STPF ACF M. Manjunath, Gopalaswamy Betta Range RFO K.P. Satish Kumar, STPF RFO Venkatesh, DRFOs M. Jnanasekhar, Karthik Yadav and Srikanth, along with other forest personnel.
The seizure comes as forest officials continue efforts to curb the illegal trade in wildlife parts and protect endangered species in and around the tiger reserve.