Guwahati: Two brothers from a village in Assam’s Nagaon district were killed in firing by forest personnel for unauthorised entry into the Laokhowa-Burhachapori wildlife sanctuary Friday night, forest and district authorities confirmed.
The incident occurred at around 1 am, when a group of men from Dhingbori Chapori village situated in Juria block of Nagaon district “trespassed” into the sanctuary to fish in the Rowmari Beel, a freshwater body within the core area of the sanctuary, Superintendent of Police, Swapnaneel Deka told ThePrint.
“Two of them sustained fatal injuries in the firing, while the rest managed to escape. We have registered an FIR into the incident as per inputs from the forest department, and investigation is on. No complaint has been lodged by the affected family yet,” he added.
The deceased have been identified as Abdul Jalil (40) and Samaruddin (35) of Dhingbori Chapori village. Local media reported that they were from the same family.
In a social media post Saturday evening, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma termed the incident a case of “trespassing” and directed the state chief secretary to “immediately constitute an inquiry to investigate the incident thoroughly”.
Last night, individuals from Sutirpar village trespassed into Lawkhua-Burachapari Reserve Forest. During an encounter with patrolling forest guards, a guard opened fire in self-defense, resulting in the deaths of Samaruddin (35) and Abdul Jalil (40).
I have directed the Chief…
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 22, 2024
The bodies were taken to the Nagaon civil hospital for postmortem Saturday, after which they were handed over to the family members in the presence of police. Hundreds gathered at the village to catch a last glimpse of the two brothers.
A large number of police and forest personnel have been deployed in the area to prevent any law and order violation.
The Laokhowa-Burahchapori sanctuary is a designated buffer zone of the Kaziranga Tiger Reserve. Located on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra, the protected areas of Laokhowa and Burhachapori are home to one-horned rhinoceroses, elephants, water buffaloes, Royal Bengal tigers, and over 200 species of birds, besides being a breeding ground for at least 39 species of fish.
Elaborating the circumstances under which the firing took place, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Nagaon Wildlife Division, Jayanta Deka, said that the forest staff fired in “self-defence”.
“On Friday night, we received inputs of suspected movement within the park at a time when the animals (wildlife) were migrating into other areas. It was a group of 20-22 men, who suddenly launched an attack on our forest staff — they were forced to fire in self-defence,” said Deka.
The District Commissioner of Nagaon, Narendra Kumar Shah, told ThePrint that a magisterial inquiry has been ordered.
“According to preliminary information, it happened inside the wildlife sanctuary, and any activity inside the protected area is not allowed. We have ordered an inquiry,” said Shah.
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Increased animal movement post eviction drive
In February last year, the Assam government had carried out a massive eviction drive at Laokhowa and Burhachapori, which led to the clearing of about 1,282 hectares of forest land illegally occupied by villagers.
Following the eviction, Burhachapori saw the return of rhinos in the area after four decades. Rhinos migrate to and from the Kaziranga and Orang National Parks, and also from Pobitora Wildlife sanctuary in the nearby Morigaon district.
The news was also shared by CM Sarma via a social media post in January.
“Happy to share that after 40 years, our iconic Rhinos have returned to Laokhowa and Burhachapori. They have returned within 1 year of our successful anti-encroachment operation in the region,” he had written.
Sarma had also mentioned that 51.7 square kilometres of forest cover had been retrieved from the evictions last year.
Happy to share that after 40 years our iconic Rhinos have returned to Laokhowa and Burachapori. 🦏
They have returned within 1 year of our successful anti-encroachment operation in the region.
51.7 sq km of forest cover was retrieved from the evictions in 2023 🌳🌲 pic.twitter.com/MwAEE8aUXH
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 5, 2024
“After eviction, the movement of rhinos and elephants from Orang and Kaziranga has increased here. There has also been an increase in the population of elephants,” said DFO Deka.
There are about 10-12 water bodies in the sanctuary, and it has registered the highest species of birds in the latest bird count, the forester added.
Speaking to ThePrint, Bibhab Talukdar, Chief Executive Officer of wildlife NGO Aaranyak and Chair of Asian Rhino Specialist Group, said that there are 3-4 rhinos in the protected areas of the sanctuary currently. The Aaranyak team interacts with villagers from time to time to raise awareness.
“We have been talking to villagers and they have welcomed the return of rhinos into the sanctuary, saying that it would lead to tourism and development in the area. But they remain wary about elephants treading into human areas and destroying crops,” said Talukdar.
“Rowmari beel is a large waterbody, and many species of birds frequent it. People have been venturing into the protected areas, looking for chances to catch fish or cut trees, but authorities are stricter now,” he added.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)