Ooty: Five persons were held for possession of deer meat at a remote village in a wooded zone at Kundah slopes near here, on Friday.
Forest sources said that the foresters in Kundah range acting on a tip-off conducted an investigation in Bellathicombai hamlet deep inside the woods near Kundah. On investigation, they found some residents there possessed deer meat, along with some parts like legs and head of the dead animal.
Foresters arrested five persons identified as Saravanan (21), Rangasamy (35), Nagesh (39), Ramesh (30) and Krishnan (36), hailing from Bellathicombai village, on charges of violating wildlife rules.
Investigations revealed that the arrested had found a carcass of a sambar deer on the fringes of Bellathicombai hamlet, and decided to cull its meat. They clandestinely culled the meat from the carcass and shared it among themselves.
