Highlights
- Assam police arrest poaching kingpin who killed 20 rhinos in four years.
- Sabar Ingleng, 35, was arrested near Kaziranga national park
- Police claim his arrest likely to help unravel big poaching network
With the arrest of Sabar Ingleng, 35, the Assam government today claimed a major breakthrough in its fight against rhinoceros poaching in the state. He is reported to have killed over 20 rhinoceros in just four years, and was on the most wanted list of wildlife authorities.
Ingleng was arrested from the Karbi Anglong hill district by a special task force of Assam police and the state's forest department.
According to the police poachers have often used the thick forest cover and difficult terrain of this area which borders Kaziranga National Park to escape from the authorities.
This year alone poachers have killed 14 rhinoceros in Kaziranga, despite the authorities stepping up patrols to nab them.
What makes the poaching business so lucrative in this region is the high price rhinoceros' horns fetch in the illegal market - Rs 1 crore for 1 Kg of horns - and the proximity to international borders like Myanmar and China from the North East.
However, with Ingleng's arrest, the police are hoping to open a new front in its battle with poachers. He is suspected to be the kingpin of a mega poaching network, and his interrogation could provide names of others poachers active in the area.
Today's arrest is also significant, as it signals the government's renewed focus on preventing poaching in the state.
In July, state forest minister Promila Rani Brahma had issued an appeal asking people living near protected areas to cooperate with authorities and help prevent poaching.