<i>Birds poached by poisoning, 1 held</i>
Fed with poisoned fishes left by a poacher, wild birds lie dead or nearly dead at Char Gongamati near Kuakata sea beach in Patuakhali district. Below, the alleged poacher Bahauddin, who was caught by locals but later let go by forest department men. PHOTO: BANGLAR CHOKH
A poacher killed over 200 birds with the help of poison traps at Kawar Char reserve forest yesterday. Locals caught the perpetrator, Bahauddin, 35, with the birds but the forest department men allegedly freed him instead of handing over to police. The poacher is engaged in catching the birds with the poison traps in the reserve forest areas of Kuakata, Kawar Char, Gongamoti and adjacent areas, locals said. Yesterday morning, Bahauddin mixed poison with fishes and scattered them in the forest. After eating the fish, a good number of birds lost their ability to fly. Then he caught the birds, slaughtered them and put into a sack. "We informed forest men and requested them to arrest Bahauddin but they freed him," said Miraj, 25, an eyewitness. "Bahauddin often hunts birds in the reserve forest areas and sell those to local people for cheap prices. He also sells them to hotels in Kuakata area as tourists like the meat of such birds very much," he said. When contacted, Rezaul Karim, beat officer of Gongamoti Reserved Forest, said, "After getting information, I sent our men to the spot and they confirmed the matter." However, the phone got disconnected when this correspondent questioned him why Bahauddin, was freed.
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