Fishing mafia strikes at Harike wildlife office

Fishing mafia strikes at Harike wildlife office
TNN | Aug 14, 2012, 05.59AM IST

CHANDIGARH: In an attempt to intimidate the wildlife staff and WWF-India researchers at Harike Wildlife sanctuary, near Ferozepur, a group of fishing contractors and their henchmen raided the Range Office and forcibly took away two motorcycles after the arrest of a poacher and seizure of a Mahindra pick-up truck with 50 kg of fish and six nets on Monday morning.

One of the motorcycles belonged to Mohammad Shahnawaz, a researcher posted at Harike since November 2010 to study the fresh water biodiversity of the Satluj-Beas river complex. At about 6.30 am, we woke to the noise of a fight in the forest complex. I went outside and saw 15 contractors taking away my motorcycle along with that of a forest employee. I pleaded with them not to do so but they said that they would give it back only when the forest department released their pick-up truck. They also injured the chowkidar, Pargat Singh. An FIR has been lodged at Harike Police Station,'' Shahnawaz told TOI.

Matters came to a head when a team of wildlife officials led by DFO (Wildlife) at Ferozepur, M. Sudhagar, and DFO (Territorial) Sanjiv Tiwari nabbed the fish poachers at Marrar village at 5.30 am on Monday. We got a Bolero pick-up vehicle loaded with 50 kg of precious fish, fishing nets and pieces of wood and caught one of the accused, Raj Mangal, a resident of Uttar Pradesh. Four others fled in a boat. He was booked under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and the Indian Forest Act 1927. Fifteen local gondas pushed their way into the range office complex at Harike, attacked the staff and took away two bikes,'' said Sudhagar.

Raj Mangal has been sent to jail by the court. Tiwari said police had recovered the two motorcyles. The motorbikes have not been given back to us. It is a very serious offence as it constitutes an attempt at interfering in the duties of a public servant,'' said Tiwari.

This is the fourth major assault on wildlife staff at Harike. The most brutal one took place on March 5, 2001, when the land mafia and fish poachers opened fire on a motorboat patrol. Many of the staff were injured. On February 2, 2011, a posse of the wildlife staff impounded a boat and motorcycle of the land mafia at Kot Kemp Khan on the Satluj, but they were waylaid by the land mafia to snatch back the bike. Three wildlife officials were seriously injured and three others, including police constable Resham Singh, suffered minor injuries in an attack by land mafia and nomads in June.

How on earth can we tolerate such blatant lawlessness? On one side activists who are individually trying to wield the RTI as a tool to expose the wrong doings of the mafia are being systematically murdered, on the other hand a Government office is raided by fishing mafia. There ought to be strong condemnation of the incident and the perpetrators of the crime ought to be put behind bars. Will the strong arm of the law catch up with these mafia?