Port Blair, Jan 18: Andaman and Nicobar police has apprehended seven poachers for entering inside Jarawa Tribal Reserve Forest and exploiting Jarawa Tribal girls.
According to reports, four poachers in two dinghies and three more people in another dinghy have been picked up by a police team of Kadamtala from Baludera and Hiren Tikrey areas of South Andaman.
According to officials these poachers had lured Jarawa Girls and taken them to lonely Islands Hiren Tikrey and Baludera for exploitation. These two lonely Islands are nearly four hour ride from Tirur Village of South Andaman and nearly three hour ride in dinghy from Kadamtala.
In first case with four poachers and four missing Jarawa Girls (since last four days) were found from Hiren Tikrey while in the second case with three poachers another four Jarawa Girls were located from Baludera by a Joint Patrolling Team of AAJVS, Triabal Welfare, Forest Department.
Two Jarawa men assisted the JPT.
“Based on complaints received from Tribal Welfare Officers, we are registering a case against these seven people and they will be then be arrested,” Mr. Chinmoy Biswal the Superintendent of Police (N &M) Andaman told ‘Andaman Sheekha’ today.
Biswal added that Jarawa men who accompanied the JPT had also thrashed the poachers in both the locations after they found girls from their community with the poachers. Father of one of the Jarawa Girl also accompanied the JPT.
Though officials of Tribal Welfare Department do not want to comment in this regard but they say that often poachers take Jarawa Tribes with them to make them catch crabs but in this case there are chances that these girls were lured and taken to lonely Islands also for sexual exploitation.
The Joint Patrolling Tea started the search operation after a group of Jarawa men, led by ‘Anzaley’ complained about eight missing girls from Tirur Jarawa Reserve Forest.
Among the poachers, Mr. Narayan Ray @ Sujoy has past history of selling venison and entering inside Jarawa Reserve Forest. He was once arrested for poaching inside Jarawa Reserve in past but was later released on bail.
Sources confirmed that these poachers will be booked under Protection of Aboriginal Tribes (PAT) Regulation.
