Nine held with blackbuck meat, rifle near Hyderabad

Future City Commissionerate police apprehended nine persons and seized 13 kg of blackbuck meat, a .315 rifle, ammunition, vehicles and other material. Police said the suspects allegedly hunted a blackbuck near Marikal and transported the meat towards Hyderabad.

HYDERABAD: The Future City Commissionerate police on Monday apprehended nine persons and recovered black buck meat and a hunting rifle from them.

The suspects were identified as Md Haji Uddin (36) of Edi Bazar, Meer Mukhtar Ali (37) of Edi Bazar, Md Tajamul (37) of Charminar, Meer Raza Ali Khan (39) and Khurram Khan (35) of Ramachandrapuram in Sangareddy district, Syed Salman Ali (30) of Moghalpura, Md Afroz Khan (36) of Shastripuram, Md Abdul Aziz (33) of Charminar and Md Riyaz (28) of Utkoor in Mahabubnagar district.

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The sleuths seized around 13 kg of blackbuck meat, a .315 rifle fitted with a telescopic sight and silencer, 19 rounds of ammunition, two vehicles, eight smartphones, a camera, two torch lights and Rs 28,590 cash.

According to the Shadnagar DCP C Sirisha Raghavendra, the group had allegedly travelled to the Marikal forest area near Narayanpet district, where a blackbuck was hunted. The meat was then allegedly transported towards Hyderabad in vehicles. The suspects were intercepted near Raikal Toll Plaza while they were proceeding towards the city.

The police and Forest Department officials are now probing the circumstances in which the blackbuck was hunted and the role played by each of the nine persons. The officials are also examining the seized smartphones, camera and other material to establish whether the group had allegedly been involved in similar hunting activities earlier.

The recovery of the .315 rifle fitted with a telescopic sight and silencer, along with 19 rounds of ammunition, has emerged as a key part of the investigation.

Officials said the operation was carried out as part of intensified efforts to check illegal hunting and transportation of wildlife meat in areas surrounding Hyderabad.

A case bearing POR No. 15 was registered under Sections 9, 39, 50, 51 and 57 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and Section 30 of the Arms Act.

The officials said further investigation was underway to ascertain whether the suspects had links with other persons involved in wildlife hunting and whether they had previously hunted blackbucks or transported wildlife meat to Hyderabad.