Five suspected traders were arrested by officials of the Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR) in Balaghat district last Saturday for allegedly trying to sell body parts of tigers, a senior officer said today.
The officials seized four nails and one tooth of tiger from the possession of the arrested persons.
KTR Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Sudhir Mishra said the five men, all residents of neighbouring Chhattisgarh, were arrested from the Khapa range in Baihar of the district.
Mishra said they had the information that these 'traders' were looking for prospective buyers, specifically a tantric, locally known as panda, as tiger parts are used in certain rituals in this region.
"Four tiger nails, a tooth, and two motorcycles used in the crime were seized. We posed as 'pandas' on a tip-off that some persons are looking for buyers to sell tiger parts. We lured the traders into holding a meeting," Mishra explained.
He said tribals in the region believe that various body parts of tigers and leopards like the claws, paws, teeth, bones, whiskers etc. could make them rich as well as successful in gambling.
The arrested persons are identified as Gadhu Baiga (40), Shankar Baiga (32), Sukhram (20), Chain Singh (35) and Baldev Gaud (22).
"They were sent to judicial custody by a local court. We are investigating further to know that from where did they procure the tiger parts," the SDO added.
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