22nd Jan., 2019


As many as 102 one-horned rhinoceros have been poached and killed in the country since 2008 and 209 poachers arrested for the crime, according to data obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The maximum killings of 84 one-horned rhinoceros have been reported from Assam, according to data provided by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), under the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are the only two states which have reported such killings, with 17 and one deaths, respectively, during the period, according to data.

Noida-based lawyer Ranjan Tomar had sought state-wise data on the number of one-horned rhinos killed by poachers in the last 10 years and offenders arrest from the WCCB, a statutory body formed to combat organised wildlife crime in the country.

“As per data available in the records of the bureau based on the information from the state forest and police departments, 102 one-horned rhinos have been killed and 209 poachers have been arrested in the last 10 years in India,” the WCCB said in a written reply.

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