<i>Saline water crocodile poacher's den raided</i>
Seized skull and bones of a saline water crocodile lying at Sharankhola forest office on Tuesday. The forest department deposited the items to the malkhana (depository) of a Bagerhat court yesterday.Photo: STAR
Forest guards recovered skull and bones of a saline water crocodile from a poacher's house at Chalrayenda village under Sharankhola upazila of Bagerhat on Tuesday. Being tipped off, a team of forest guards led by Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Kashyapi Bikash Chandra raided the house of Afzal Howlader at around 1:30 pm and recovered the skull and bones of the crocodile from a casket. The poacher, Afzal Howlader, managed to flee, sensing the presence of the forest staff, said ACF Bikash Chandra. A case was filed with a Bagerhat court yesterday against poacher Afzal Howlader under Section 26 (1) of the Forest Act 1927. The recovered skull and bones of the crocodile were deposited to malkhana (depository) of the court concerned as evidence of the case, he said. On September 23 this year, forest guards recovered four skins of saline water crocodiles from the house of poacher Latif Molla at Purbokhada village under Sharankhola upazila. Following a case filed by the forest department, police arrested Nabi Hossain, a member of an organised gang of poachers of the Sundarbans, at Sharankhola Bazar on September 24. But the poacher was later released on bail, the ACF said. According to Deputy Forest Officer (DFO East) Mihir Kumar, several gangs of poachers are involved in killing tigers, deer and crocodiles in the Sundarbans.
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