Arrested poachers' could have Sansar Chand links

DEHRADUN: The five persons arrested near Jim Corbett National Park with a tiger skin could have links with notorious poacher Sansar Chand and more arrests may be made, Uttarakhand forest department officals said.

"Preliminary investigations revealed that the poachers could have links with Sansar Chand," a forest department official said.

The forest department on Thursday night arrested the five poachers along with a tiger skin at Ramnagar area, the gateway to the Corbett Park which is famous for tigers and elephants.

Raids are also being conducted elsewhere in the country to nab other members of the gang, officials said, adding the poachers told the investigators that they wanted to sell the skin in Delhi.

Arrested in June 2005, Sansar Chand, known as the 'Veerappan of north India', heads a gang of poachers and has been twice convicted under the Wildlife Act and faces trial in several other cases.

The official said interrogation was continuing but "a detailed probe would only tell the complete picture of the poaching ring in the state".

More information is likely to be disclosed in a day or two, he said.

A trap and other poaching equipments have also been recovered, officials said.