Forest dept seeks polygraph test of staff for ‘letting off’ poachers

BHOPAL: It is for the first time we have demanded polygraph test of our employees to see why alleged poachers hadn’t been caught.

ALOK KUMAR, additional principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife)

Madhya Pradesh forest department’s special task force (STF) has demanded polygraph and narco analysis of four forest department employees suspected of letting off the men who were accused of poaching a black buck.

Black buck is listed under the Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

A senior official in the STF said it was for the first time they were pushing for the polygraph test of forest employees suspected of shoddy investigation in a black buck poaching case in Damoh district. After polygraph, they will push for narco test, he said.

“In September last year, the poaching of a black buck was reported from Bakani village of Damoh district. The local forest officials arrested three people in this connection. But soon locals started protesting accusing the forest officials of catching the wrong people. Complaints regarding this were made to the senior officials in the state forest department, which in turn handed over the case to the STF in October,” he said. The three are out on bail.

When STF started its investigation, it found alleged involvement of four more people in the poaching of the black buck, as was claimed by the locals.

“They were not even arrested. When we went to conduct raids at their residences, they were absconding. They also managed to get anticipatory bail. But we have found evidences of their involvement in the poaching and made them accused in the case. While conducting the probe, we also found that the three, who were earlier arrested, were also involved,” said the senior STF official.

“What struck us the most was why the four were not caught by the range officer and the three forest guards. This is the reason we want them to take a polygraph test and narco analysis,” he said.

“In December, we appealed to a special court seeking permission for polygraph test. If these employee don’t agree for a polygraph test, we will write to higher ups in the department seeking their suspension as they are not cooperating with the investigation,” he said.

The hearing in the case is scheduled on February 2, when the court will make its stand clear on this issue.

Alok Kumar, additional principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), confirmed the development. He said the department was using all possible ways to increase conviction rate in wildlife crime. “It is for the first time we have demanded polygraph test of our employees to see why alleged poachers hadn’t been caught,” he said .

Kumar said STF had already conducted polygraph test and narco analysis of poacher Dalbir Shrichand Bawaria, who was accused of being a middleman of an Indo-China tiger smuggling syndicate, was arrested in February last year.

Dalbir had failed the polygraph test following which STF went ahead for his narco analysis. “The test report is awaited from the Gujarat forensic laboratory. Bawaria is an accused in the killing of T13 tigress from Pench which had gone missing in February 2012 and whose hide was later confiscated by Nepal police in 2013,” he said.