‘Politics’ behind rhino poaching

Hinting that there could be a ‘political conspiracy’ in the spurt in rhino poaching in the famed Kaziranga National Park, Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain today said that the CBI inquiry would throw light on different aspects of the rhino killings. The State Government is also contemplating amending relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act-1972 to give more teeth to the deterrent measures like making poaching punishable by 7 to 10 years. Meanwhile, following Thursday’s killing of a rhino in Kaziranga, the State Government has constituted a committee with BS Bonal, CCF (Wildlife), which has been asked to submit a report immediately after an on-the-spot inquiry. Addressing a press conference, Hussain said that the killing of rhinos invariably coincided with some instability in the political sphere “as when a particular party was defeated in panchayat polls or when a leader of that party joined the Congress.” “However, since the matter has been handed over to the CBI, it would not be proper to dwelt more on this. We are confident that the CBI would unravel many hidden aspects of the recent rhino poaching,” he said. Asserting that the Forest Department was initiating adequate measures to protect the rhino, the Minister said that the spurt in poaching made it imperative that the law was made more stringent for dealing with forest crimes, especially poaching. “We want to have the Wildlife Protection Act-1972 amended for extending the term of a convicted poacher to 7 to 10 years instead of the present 3 years,” Hussain said, adding that such an amendment could be an effective deterrent.This year poachers have killed seven rhinos of the Kaziranga National Park besides three in the Orang National Park. Source: assam tribune