(N) Notorious tiger poacher Totha Ram arrested

November 19, 2009

poacher-Totha-Ram-arrested-/articleshow/5243786.cms

Notorious tiger poacher Totha Ram arrested

TNN 18 November 2009, 05:55pm IST

NEW DELHI: A notorious tiger poacher from Panipat, Birbal alias Totha Ram, was

arrested on Wednesday in Banbasa at Champawat district of Uttarakhand

in a joint operation of the Uttarakhand police and forest department with

assistance from the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI).

Totha Ram, who is the leader of a bawaria poaching gang, was arrested along with

a local associate. A tiger trap, another half-made trap, two deer antlers,

knives and skinning tools, a net, two mobile phones and a motorcycle were

recovered from them. Totha Ram has been arrested twice before - in May 2003 with

poaching tools, and in August 2004 with a tiger skin (this was also a WPSI

assisted case). He was out on bail from the 2004 case and is believed to have

been camping in Banbasa with the intention of killing a tiger.

" We are delighted with this case, particularly since it appears that this

poacher was caught just before he was able to kill a tiger. It is another

example of how important it is to stop the activities of habitual poachers, who

continue to carry out their illegal activities even while out on bail " , said

Belinda Wright, executive director of WPSI.

Totha Ram comes from a family of tiger poachers. His sister Dilpo was recently

convicted to five years rigorous imprisonment by a court in Pilibhit, Uttar

Pradesh, for a 1992 tiger case. She had earlier been convicted in November 2005,

by a court in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, for carrying the skin and bones of a

tiger that was killed at Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in February 2005.

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Thank you for your compassion !

With best regards,

Debasis Chakrabarti

Compassionate Crusaders Trust

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