In a daring operation involving several vehicles and a daylight chase and ambush through the streets of Delhi NCR Gurgoan area, notorious poacher BHEEMA BAWARIA was arrested red handed with a tiger skin, tiger bones (an entire skeleton), two live turtles and ivory. This was a joint operation conducted by NGO Wildlife SOS, NTCA, Haryana Forest Department, CBI, WCCB and Haryana Police.
According to information from (NTCA) National Tiger Conservation Authority, Bheema Bawaria was earlier arrested in 2009 with a tiger skeleton in Gurgaon and has been absconding since. He is a repeat offender and has been arrested in several wildlife crime cases over the years linking him to the big names in wildlife crime like Sansar Chand who is now in a Rajasthan jail.
Several enforcement agencies like the NTCA, CBI, WCCB, Haryana Forest department and the Police have been on the lookout for this man for years. The anti poaching and surveillance wing of Wildlife SOS has been on the trail of Bheema Bawaria and kept him under constant surveillance for over 18 months to confirm his whereabouts, contacts and trade linkages.
“Being a repeat offender and a frequent visitor to jail has made him a hardened wildlife criminal. Jail and imprisonment is no longer a disincentive for wildlife criminals like Bheema. His increasing confidence of being able to get out on bail and go back to killing tigers makes him a very dangerous criminal. It is critically important to confirm the international linkages and routes he was using and get to the bottom of his network and neutralize such gangs†said Kartick Satyanarayan, co founder and chairman of Wildlife SOS who led the operation against Bheema
Delhi and the NCR region is used as an intermediate trade route before the contraband leaves the country for international destinations like SE Asia and China where the Tiger body parts are then used as ingredients in preparation of aphrodisiac and chinese traditional medicines. The arrest of Bheema has the potential to reveal further critical links to his suppliers and locations where he and his close associates may have trapped and killed tigers in the past across India.
“Operation Bheema†initiated by NGO Wildlife SOS had the support and cooperation of Dr Rajesh Gopal, Member Secretary, NTCA who was in touch with Wildlife SOS since September 2011. This operation indicates admirable cooperation and liaison between NGO Wildlife SOS and multiple enforcement agencies.
There is soon to be a happy ending for the two turtles rescues. They will soon be released in the forest, far from human disturbances.
Wildlife SOS’s Anti poaching Unit “Forestwatch!” is supported by HSI, One Voice and Hauser Bears.
