An armed poacher was shot dead during an encounter with forest security forces near the Duramari Anti-Poaching Camp in Kaziranga National Park’s Agaratoli range on Wednesday afternoon. The confrontation occurred around 12:45 pm, following credible intelligence inputs about the presence of armed intruders inside the park.
Acting swiftly, forest officials activated multiple anti-poaching camps and deployed commando action units to block all escape routes and initiate a thorough combing operation. “One armed suspect was neutralised in the operation. Search operations are still ongoing to track down any accomplices,” said the forest department in an official statement. Teams from the police and civil administration are also supporting the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division in accordance with standard protocol.
Kaziranga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is internationally renowned for hosting the largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses. This distinction has made it a recurring target for organized poaching syndicates, often linked to armed and insurgent networks.
This latest incident comes amid a heightened crackdown on poaching across Assam. Earlier on May 9, a suspected poacher from Arunachal Pradesh, Nabam Naga, was arrested with a country-made rifle near the Dikal Beat of Behali Wildlife Sanctuary following suspicious activity detected during a routine patrol.
Security experts have repeatedly highlighted the nexus between poachers and insurgent outfits. In January, former Special DGP Harmeet Singh and Special Task Force Chief Partha Sarathi Mahanta emphasized that many wildlife trafficking operations in the region are connected to terrorist networks.
From March 2023 to December 2024, Assam Police arrested six poachers and seized a cache of wildlife contraband, including two rhino horns. A significant operation at Orang National Park in 2024 led to the arrest of four armed suspects with weapons, highlighting the militarised dimension of wildlife crime in the state.
Officials have affirmed that anti-poaching operations in Kaziranga will persist until all potential threats are neutralized and the area is declared fully secure.
