Guwahati: In a major crackdown on wildlife trafficking, security forces have arrested a man and seized the body parts of wild animals from his possession in Assam’s Kamrup district near the India-Bhutan border.
The individual, identified as Som Hansda, was apprehended by a joint team comprising personnel from the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), local police, and the forest department. The operation took place on Thursday near the Guabari border outpost.
According to SSB’s 24th Battalion Commandant H.K. Gupta, the team recovered a variety of items, including an elephant’s molar tooth, teeth and hair of a wild boar, owl skull, and bones of several other animals.
The accused has been handed over to the forest department at Kumarikata. Further investigations are underway to bust the network involved in the wildlife trafficking racket.
ALSO READ: No first-time Aadhaar card to be issued for people above 18 yrs in Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
The SSB regularly meets local citizens and encourages them to inform the nearest SSB border outpost or battalion headquarters about any criminal activity or illegal smuggling in the border area, Gupta added.