Hyderabad: In a joint operation, Hyderabad police and forest officials arrested six persons, including a member of the Telangana Rifle Association, for illegally hunting deer, peacocks, rabbits, wild boar, quail and doves in forest areas of Shadnagar and Makthal. Four airguns and a licensed rifle with 20 live rounds were seized.The accused are Md Muzzaffar Hussain alias Guddu (42), a bird seller from Alijakotla; Mir Ahmed Amir (27), a professional shooter from Jadcherla and a Telangana Rifle Association member; Abdullah bin Sahain (27), an optical shop worker from Charminar; Saud bin Mohd Balab (41), an optical shop worker from Moghalpura; Masood bin Mohammed (43), a cab driver from Charminar; and K Shekar (38), a farmer from Mustipally in Makthal mandal, Narayanpet district.Police said Muzzaffar and his associates had been hunting wild animals for over a year using airguns. “The group hunted peacocks, deer, rabbits, quail, doves and wild boar on multiple occasions and consumed the meat. The remains were dumped in the Jurala reservoir backwaters in Narayanpet,” a Task Force official said.Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of Task Force police and forest personnel arrested the accused from Mirchowk, Jadcherla and Makthal. Seized items include four airguns, a licensed .30-06 non-prohibited bore (NPB) sporting rifle with 20 live rounds, a Scorpio, eight mobile phones, airgun pellets and a knife. Officials said the accused recorded videos of the hunts on a phone belonging to Muzzaffar.A case has been registered by the Forest Range Officer, Hyderabad East Range, under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. “The accused were handed over to forest authorities for further investigation,” Task Force additional DCP A Srinivasa Rao said..
