Chinkaras found dead in Army camp, 5 Booked

Chinkaras found dead in Army camp, 5 BookedThree heads of chinkaras and uncooked meat were today seized from an Army tank repair unit in Barmer in Rajasthan, after which it ordered a Court of Inquiry (CoI) to investigate the matter. Five armymen have been booked and question in connection with the incident.  'Army officers are being interrogated to ascertain the identity of the jawans involved in the poaching of the antelope and the weapons used," said B R Bhadu, the district forest officer (DFO), Barmer. Once identified the accused may face imprisonment between 3 to 7 years and a penalty up to Rs 10,000 under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Chinkara is an endangered species and has been kept in the first schedule of Wildlife Protection. M L Sonal, DFO, Jaisalmer said ,"Chinkaras are left only in Jaisalmer and Bikaner. "

The Army personnel booked are Subedar Gopilal, Havaldar D R Naik, Naik N Sarkar, Lance Naik L R Pardesi and Sepoy D R Naidu. “We believe the three chinkaras were killed in Barmer’s Siv tehsil, in Salitada area, some 40 km from Barmer city. The officers of the unit and the Army are co-operating with the inquiry,” Badhu said. Defence PRO Col. S G Goswami said the Army had constituted a court of inquiry to ascertain the facts. “Anybody found guilty of the charges will be dealt with severely and the Army has assured its full cooperation with the forest department and the local police in their investigation,” Goswami said.