A rhino horn believed to have been extracted by miscreants last month has been seized by the Assam Police in Nagaon but the suspected poacher managed to escape from custody, a top officer said on Saturday.

The suspected poaching of a one-horned rhinoceros in Kaziranga National Park was the first such incident in the park in over a year.

Director General of Police (DGP) GP Singh said the rhino horn has been recovered by Special Task Force (STF), Assam, and the Nagaon Police.

“It’s scientifically established to be a fresh rhino horn,” Singh wrote on Twitter.

“In an unfortunate turn of events the poacher/seller escaped police custody and jumped into River Brahmaputra while showing the place of poaching. Teams have been formed to locate and apprehend him,” he said.

An inquiry has been ordered into the incident leading to the escape, the DGP said.

The Kaziranga National Park had recorded zero poaching in 2022, the first time since 1977, while in 2020 and 2021, two rhinos were killed in each year.

“We would locate and bring him to justice. @assampolice remains committed to protect our pride – the one horned rhino. Well done Team Nagaon & STF,” Singh said.

Sharing details of the recovery, Nagaon Police said in a Facebook post that the STF had recieved information regarding a group of poachers trying to sell a rhino horn.

The STF and Nagaon Police immediately laid a trap in Batadrava area on Friday.

One Saidul Islam was caught with a rhino horn by the joint team the same day, Nagaon Police said.

Based on the information provided during interrogation, three motorcycles, Rs 50,000 in cash and one mobile phone were recovered.

Islam also claimed that a .303 rifle used to kill the rhino was hidden at Saiful Tapu, under Bagori range of the Kaziranga National Park.

A team of Nagaon Police and STF, along with forest officials, took the person to the location to search for the weapon and to reconstruct the crime.

“However, when the team reached the Brahmaputra river, the person under the cover of darkness jumped into the river and fled away. Necessary search operations are on to re-apprehend the accused,” Nagaon Police said.

Operations are also on to apprehended the rhino poachers named by Islam. 

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