THE TIMES OF INDIA
Sep 27, 2016

DEHRADUN: After an extensive search that lasted six months, Uttarakhand police have arrested the alleged mastermind of a tiger poaching gang from whose possession five tiger skins had been recovered in March.

Ram Bhagat, the kingpin of the gang, was arrested from Hoshiarpur area of Punjab on Monday. A joint team of the special task force (STF) of Uttarakhand police and Haridwar police made the arrest after they received inputs about Bhagat's presence in Punjab. Police said that Bhagat broke down during questioning and admitted to his crime.

On March 13, Bhagat and four other members of his gang were allegedly smuggling five tiger skins to Punjab. When confronted by an STF team in Haridwar, Bhagat and three other gang members managed to escape. Their accomplice Ram Chandra from Bhatinda was nabbed. The team seized five tiger skins from their possession in what was called the biggest such haul in the state. The skins were 10 to 12 ft in length and 6 to 7 ft in breadth.


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