Six Arrested for Poaching Sambar Deer in Kotagiri

Foresters attached to the Kattabettu forest range in the Nilgiris forest division have arrested six persons on Monday for hunting down a sambar deer in Kotagiri limits.

The forest officials acted on specific information to apprehend the suspects. The arrested individuals were identified as Velu (36), Soorya (32), and Manikkam (36), all hailing from Karamadai limits in Coimbatore district, along with Senthilkumar (46), Viswanathan (38), and Chinnadurai (42) from Kanakambi hamlet in Bikipathimund village limits near Kattabettu.

Following an inquiry, forest personnel seized a country-made gun, a knife, and the skin of the poached sambar deer from the accused. Officials stated that the group functioned as a unit to hunt down the animal to extract its meat.

Wildlife activists pointed out that the collaboration between individuals from Karamadai and local accomplices suggests a coordinated understanding between locals and outsiders to kill sambar deer for meat, either for personal consumption or for sale elsewhere.

Activists have urged the forest department to conduct a detailed investigation into whether the gang had been involved in deer poaching in the past. They also called for stepped-up forest patrolling in remote areas and increased surveillance over suspicious movements along jungle peripheries in Kotagiri.