Gujarat: Two detained for hunting chinkara and 3 rabbits in Patan

They were detained by Range Forest Officer (RFO) of Patan Zilubha Vaghela and his team. Vaghela said, “On May 18, I was on a night patrolling in the reserve forest area near Santalpur when I spotted two persons moving around suspiciously on a motorbike. I chased them but they tried to speed away but lost balance and fell down, after which they abandoned the motorbike and ran away. When I reached near the motorbike, I found a chinkara and three rabbits killed with a firearm.”

“We took the motorbike in our possession and traced its owner on the basis of its registration number. We found that the vehicle belonged to one of Nasir’s cousins. We also found out that Nasir and Habib were using the motorbike for the past few days. Eventually, we caught the two,” Vaghela added. Vaghela said that because of the lockdown, many people tend to move into reserve forest areas to hunt animals for meat with a belief that nobody will spot them. “Last week also, we arrested three persons who hunted two rabbits. To prevent such incidents, we have increased patrolling in the area,” he said.