Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap directed a multi-agency sting operation that intercepted two smugglers carrying tiger skins across the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border.
BHANUPRATAPPUR, June 29, 2026 — Armed wildlife traffickers are changing their tactics along the state lines, but they can’t outrun a coordinated multi-agency dragnet. Two interstate smugglers carrying two raw tiger skins are tonight sitting in a jail cell after a joint security force ambushed them in the dense forests of the Bande range.
The state won’t tolerate the destruction of its apex predators. Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap confirmed he personally monitored the intelligence reports that triggered the high-stakes border operation. Under the direct leadership of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force Arun Kumar Pandey, investigators deployed tracking teams to seal off escape routes through the West Bhanupratappur forest division. They didn’t just want the contraband; they wanted the runners.
The targets rode straight into a trap. Byeshwar and Baburao, both residents of the neighboring Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra, thought they could use a motorcycle to slip through the unpatrolled jungle tracks. But they didn’t count on a joint team of commandos and rangers waiting in the brush. The squad blocked the path, surrounded the bike, and caught the duo red-handed with the heavy skins before they could ditch the vehicle.
How deep does this illegal network actually run?
Wildlife officials say the seized skins belong to tigers protected under Schedule-1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, the highest level of legal conservation in India. A single trade like this ruins years of painstaking anti-poaching work.
So the government threw everything it had at this cell.
The massive operation succeeded because central and state teams broke down their usual bureaucratic silos. According to official seizure logs, the sting brought together the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau’s Northern and Central zones, the Chhattisgarh Forest Department’s elite flying squad, and local Bhanupratappur forest personnel. They also pulled in the highly specialized anti-poaching unit from the Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve to ensure the evidence wasn’t compromised during the chaotic arrest.
The local magistrate didn’t waste any time. Both suspects faced a judge earlier today and went straight into judicial custody without bail.
This isn’t the end of the line.
Pandey’s office confirmed that investigators are now tracking mobile phone data and financial trails to find the wealthy buyers funding these poachers. They’ve launched a massive manhunt across the forested borders of both states. Authorities don’t just want the foot soldiers; they’re going after the kingpins who order the slaughter of India’s remaining wild tigers.
