24 July 2009


Earlier today, 24 July, 2009, a team comprising of Ranthambore Tiger Reserve staff and a WPSI representative, acting on intelligence provided by WPSI, arrested poachers Prahlad, Ram Singh, and Raju at Dumariya village in Bharatpur District, Rajasthan. A country made, muzzle-loading rifle was found in the possession of Raju. All three poachers belong to the Mogiya community.

Prahlad is a notorious tiger poacher who has been operating in Ranthambore and Sariska Tiger Reserves for several years. He is believed to be an accomplice in two tiger poaching incidents in Ranthambore, in 1992 and 2001. The April 2005 CBI report, “Disappearance of Tigers from Sariska”, also names Prahlad as an accused in two tiger poaching incidents in 2002. Prahlad has been absconding in all these cases and has not previously been arrested.