Within hours of the tragic deaths of wild pachyderms in Hojai district of Assam, there is more bad news for wildlife lovers of the State.
Unidentified poachers on Saturday night gunned down a famed one-horn rhino under Northern Range of the world heritage site Kaziranga National Park under Biswanath Chariali.
The tragic incident took place at Sitamari tapu, a sandbar island of the Brahmaputra River, south of Baghmari Power Grid Station.
Meanwhile, top forest officials have rushed to the spot.
Details are awaited.
The incident came within hours of Assam Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi asking the law enforcing agencies to be on their toes to thwart incidents of poaching of rhinos in Kaziranga National Park.
While chairing a review meeting at the conference hall of Golaghat Circuit House, Prof Mukhi said that Assam has earned its name and fame worldwide because of the Kaziranga National Park and its precious one-horned rhinoceros.
“Indiscriminate killing of the rhinos by the poachers is not only an attack on the creature but it is an attack on the pride of the State as well,” said the Governor adding that though incidents of poaching over the months have reduced drastically, the security agencies however, must be on their toes to foil any nefarious design to harm the rhinos.
Saturday’s gunning down of the prized rhino is viewed as a reply and a challenge by the poachers to the security agencies.