Forest guard among three arrested in Tiruppur for illegal possession of elephant tusks
Three individuals, including a forest guard, were arrested in Tiruppur for the illegal possession of elephant tusks. Authorities traced the illicit trade through digital evidence and internal investigations.
Why it matters
The involvement of a forest official in wildlife crime highlights significant internal corruption challenges within conservation agencies.
A forest guard and two others were arrested following seizure of a pair of elephant tusks from a house near Amaravathy Nagar in Tiruppur district on Wednesday.
Forest guard A. Mariappan (49) of Kujipatti Beat in Udumalpet Range was named as the first accused. Kannimuthu (52), a daily labourer residing in the forest settlement at Amaravathy Nagar, and R. Vijayakumar (29), a fish vendor in Amaravathy Nagar, were the second and third accused respectively.
Tracing the origin of a photograph of the tusks sent to him through WhatsApp from an unknown number, Forest Range Officer of Amaravathy Range narrowed it down to a person named Sakthi, and subsequently to one named Surya.
It then came to light that Surya had been asked by Mariappan to photograph the tusks.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in