Overview

• A joint operation by Madhya Pradesh’s State Tiger Strike Force, the Rajasthan Forest Department and NGO TigerWatch led to the June 5 arrest of six suspected poachers and the seizure of 225 bone fragments near Sheopur.
• Analyses at a Jabalpur laboratory confirmed the remains include three tigers and one leopard, prompting transfer of samples to NCBS in Bengaluru for advanced DNA profiling.
• Madhya Pradesh forest authorities have formally requested DNA profiles of Ranthambore’s tiger population to determine whether the bones originated from that reserve.
• Investigators believe the killings occurred on Rajasthan’s side of the Chambal landscape, with one tiger killed about six months ago and a leopard around Holi.
• Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey and conservation officials are calling for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the organised inter-state trafficking network.