Nashik: A female black stag was shot dead allegedly by a group of poachers in Mamdapur reserved forest area in Yeola taluka here, officials said today. The animal carcass was found in the forest near Rajapur last evening following which one person was arrested, Range Forest Officer Sanjay Bhandari said.
Four other accused are on the run and a special squad has been formed to nab them, he said. According to an eyewitness identified as Santosh Chavan, a gang of poachers was seen moving in the forest area yesterday afternoon after which a firing noise was heard.
Soon he raised an alarm following which locals gathered on the spot. They managed to stop the gang from putting the dead stag into their car and caught one of the accused identified as Dastagir Aalam, the official said.
However, four others managed to flee from the spot after allegedly threatening Chavan on gun point. Aalam, who hails from Malegaon, was handed over to forest officials and then placed under arrest after he admitted to killing the stag using a rifle, Bhandari said. The 4,500 hectare reserved forest area in Mamdapur has several water holes where stags can be spotted often.
