Three poachers killed in encounter in Kaziranga Park
On facing the forest guards, the poachers fired at them and one poacher was killed in an encounter
Kaziranga: Three poachers were killed in two encounters with forest guards in Kaziranga National Park in Assam, on Wednesday.
On a tip off about the entry of a group of poachers into the Park, forest guards launched an operation in Burapahar Range, said, Divisional Forest Officer S K Sil Sarma.
On facing the forest guards, the poachers fired at them and one poacher was killed in an encounter, around 3 AM near Borghat forest camp, said Sarma.
On being chased, the two fleeing poachers engaged in a fierce gun battle with the guards for about 25 minutes before they were killed, added Sarma.
Two 303 rifles fitted with a silencer and one round of ammunition as well as a 9-mm pistol with nine rounds of ammunition were recovered from the slain poachers, said, the DFO.
The poachers were suspected to have come from adjacent Karbi Anglong hills side.
Patrolling against poaching in the World Heritage Site had been intensified after one rhino was killed on January 1, this year and two on January 4, forest department officials added.