Four held with black buck in Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW - Four suspected poachers have been arrested with a black buck, an endangered antelope species, in Uttar Pradesh, officials said Monday.

The poachers were arrested Sunday following a joint operation carried out by forest officials and police in the Mohammadabad area of Farrukhabad district, some 200 km from Lucknow.

“We intercepted a car in which they were hiding the black buck,” divisional forest officer D.S. Rao told IANS.

“I have ordered an enquiry into the case to ascertain the antecedents of the four held and also to know from where the black buck was captured,” Rao said.

Police sources said the four accused were on their way to Haryana and were involved in the wildlife trade for the last five years.

They are natives of Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri district and had their clients in various states, including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, sources said.