Imphal: A poacher was apprehended by the Manipur forest department on April 14, while he was hunting inside the hog deer habitat at Jawa Lamjao, a part of Loktak, the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India.

The state forest department official said that the poacher was caught with a single-barrel gun, three live rounds of ammunition, and Rs 2000 in cash.

This arrest comes after two hog deer were found killed inside the Isok habitat in March, leading to suspicion that a team of ruthless hunters had trespassed into the Jawa Lamjao area of the Bishnupur district.

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The hog deer is an endangered species and is under the schedule one threatened species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The operation to nab the poacher was launched after receiving information from various sources, following which teams of police, forest guards, and Village Defence Forces were spread out to trap the poachers at around 7 am on April 14, said Rabika Soibam Chanu, Divisional Forest Officer, Bishnupur division.

Under the supervision of the Additional Superintendent of Police, Bishnupur District Seityam Takhellambam, the teams managed to arrest one of the hunters, identified as Moirangmayum Nasir, 37, from Paobitek Mayai village under the Wangoi police state. While a single-barrel gun, three live rounds of ammunition, and Rs 2000 in cash were recovered from his possession, three other accomplices managed to escape from the scene.

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During the on-spot interrogation, Moirangmayum Nasir admitted that he and his associated poachers were responsible for hunting down and killing a male and a female deer inside the Isok hog deer habitat in March.

A case has been registered against Nasir for further legal proceedings, and he was paraded in front of the media at the Forest office in the Bishnupur district.

It is noteworthy that two fully grown hog deer, locally known as Kharsa, one male and one female, were found killed with bullet injuries when a team of government officials carried out an inspection at an area in Jawa Lamjao on the northern part of Loktak Lake in mid-March.