Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 27
One person, allegedly involved in a 2012 rhino poaching case, was arrested from Dimapur by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a joint operation conducted with the Dimapur Police on April 26.
The accused, identified as one Raidang Engti, was arrested from his home in Lhomithi village around 2:30 pm on Wednesday afternoon, informed a Dimapur police official. The accused, aged 43 years, is a permanent resident of Dimapur and was engaged in the sand mining business.
According to police official, the charge against Engti included selling of two rhino horns, which he allegedly sold at a price of Rs 42 lakh each. As per the charges, one was sold to an individual from Manipur.
He was produced before the District Court, Dimapur and later taken to Assam by the CBI On April 27.
Meanwhile, the CBI informed in an official release that the accused was tracked down to Lhomithi village after a “persistent and incessant effort” by the Agency. As per the release, the premier investigating agency took over investigation, on the request of Assam Government, based on an FIR dating to July 3, 2012, registered at Rongmongwe Police Station, Karbi Anglong, Assam.
As per the FIR, a Rhino was allegedly killed and its horn poached on July 1, 2012, by unidentified poachers. “The carcass of the Rhino was lying in a hola located in between the two numbers of suburi of Long Koi Tisso Gaon,” it said.
It added that the investigation led the trail to Engti in Dimapur. “The complicity of the said accused had emerged as the person through whom the poached Rhino horn was traded and transacted for a hefty amount,” the release said.
Accordingly, after investigation, a chargesheet was filed on March 31, 2018 against 5 accused, whose names were not mentioned.
