Poachers in Buxa battle

The weapons seized in Buxa on Wednesday. Picture by Anirban

TT, 17 January 2018, Alipurduar: Foresters and poachers exchanged fire at the Buxa Tiger Reserve on Wednesday amid suspicion the gang could be from the Northeast where shoot-on-site orders are in force against such elements.

The poachers escaped but the foresters, helped by a sniffer dog, found a bow and arrow and two improvised guns left behind by the gang. The early-morning skirmish comes over a week after suspected poachers killed a bison in the north Bengal reserve bordering Assam.

Foresters suspect gangs from the Northeast have turned to north Bengal, forced by the crackdown in Kaziranga and other forests of Assam. Earlier, poachers from the Northeast had been arrested over rhino poaching in Jaldapara, north Bengal.

A bullet was recovered from the carcass of the bison killed last week. The suspected poachers could not take away the carcass.

Forest officials have complained about a shortage of staff in Buxa, saying the shortfall of 40 per cent had made it difficult to keep watch over the 760sqkm reserve.

In the face of such problems, Buxa field director N.S. Murali lavished praise on the dog, Karim. "Karim helps lot in investigations. Today (Wednesday), it led us to the second improvised gun. It also helped a lot in the bison case. We are trying our best to net the gang."