Bengaluru Crime: Forest Dept Busts Wild Meat Racket Near City; 74 Kg Seized, Poacher Arrested, 3 Absconding

Bengaluru, June 30: Close on the heels of losing five tigers in MM Hills, the forest department has unearthed a huge 'wild meat racket' thriving around Bengaluru and have confiscated two guns and over 74 kgs of wild meat.

While the Vigilance Squad of the forest department has arrested Prathap (31), they are on the lookout for his three associates -- Bheemappa, Balaraj and Ramesh, who are absconding.

The recovered wild meat belonged to nine chitals (spotted deer) and a wild boar, which they had poached in nearby Bannerughatta and Turahalli forests. Apart from a single barrel gun and another double barrel guns, the officials also seized two cars and a motorcycle.

The forest officials were tracking the thriving wildlife meat racket in and around Bengaluru city. A couple of times, they were able to procure meat, which was sold at Rs 3000 to Rs 4000 per kg. The forest officials had information that the animals were being poached in the forests around Bengaluru and Kolar districts.

Forest officials seize 74 kg of wild meat, guns, and vehicles in Bengaluru outskirts; poaching linked to Bannerghatta and Turahalli forests

On a tip off, the officials intercepted a car on NICE road and found the bodies of two deer and a wild boar. Prathap, who was driving the car was taken to custody and Prathap led the officials to a shed in CK Palya. When the officials reached the shed, there were three more people waiting for Prathap to arrive. Sighting the officials, the three tried to attack the officials with matchets and fled in the forests behind the shed.

The forest officials found some more dead animals inside the shed, where the three were skinning them and separating the meat. The shed belonged to Bheemappa, one of the accused who escaped during the forest official raid. The officials have also seized 10 live cartridges from the shed.

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Bengaluru Urban DCF said that there was a big network of poachers and wildmeat buyers thriving in Bengaluru. Since they have the phone numbers of all the four, they would be taking help from cyber police to crack the details of the middlemen and the meat buyers.