Police yet to make arrests in Jodhpur deer poaching case

Jodhpur, Apr 28 (UNI) Three days after the deer poaching case in Jodhpur district, in which a constable lost his life, the police are yet to make any arrests.

Jodhpur Police Superintendent (Rural) Prashakha Mathur said although some people were brought to the police station, but they have only been questioned till now. No arrests have yet been made in the case. The questioning may lead to identification of the real culprits, the police said.

Constable Gangaram Bishnoi, who gave the poachers a chase in the Dangiawaas area, was shot dead by them on Wednesday.

Yesterday, thousands of Bishnois demonstrated and blocked roads in the area and refused to take the body for cremation from the hospital. They wanted the police to first recover the body of the deer, said police Superintendent (City) Dr Ravi Prakash.

The Bishnois took out a procession, blocking the roads in the area. The police, however, recovered the body of the deer and its post-mortem was conducted at the veterinary hospital.

The district collector and police superintendent held discussions with the Bishnoi community leaders and tried to pacify them.

Bishnois are an animal-loving community of western Rajasthan, and are also found in Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Numbering about six million, they are followers of the 15-century saint Jambeshwar and are committed to his 29 principles on environmental conservation .

The community worships nature, believes all life is sacred and thinks that killing an animal or felling a tress is the most heinous of crimes.

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