[Assam] AASU seeks CBI probe

[Nava Thakuria]

AASU seeks CBI probe
By A Staff Reporter
 GUWAHATI, Feb 27 – The All Assam Students Union today upped the ante against State Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain for his failure to check rhino poaching and encroachment in forestland and further called for a CBI probe into unabated slaughter of rhinos in Kaziranga National Park. “The Forest Minister has simply failed to contain poaching of rhinos and also to protect forests across the State
he has no right to occupy his post,” said AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya while interacting with the media today.

The AASU adviser underlined the need for a CBI probe to unearth the real perpetrators behind rhino poaching in the State so that the guilty could be identified and punished. “Only a CBI enquiry could reveal the nexus between various elements like politicians and some forest personnel that is responsible for the increase in rhino poaching,” he asserted. 

Bhattacharya was insistent that large-scale encroachment existed inside Kaziranga National Park and “Bangladeshi settlers were entering the park though a part of its northern border.” 

Stating that while the State Forest Minister might be indispensable for the Chief Minister, forests and wildlife were vital for the entire people of Assam. In this context, the Chief Minister’s silence was all the more unfortunate, he added.

Significantly the AASU adviser described that the silence of other political parties and their leaders in this regard as appalling. Not a single party has voiced its concern as wildlife and habitat were targeted, he said. 

He further referred to a citizens meet organised on February 24 at Kohora that came up with a series of recommendations for the conservation of forests and wildlife in Assam. Foremost among them was the need to create a dedicated force to protect the valuable wildlife of the State.

The citizens meet wanted enhanced support to forest department personnel who were working in and around protected areas. Moreover, the need for a watertight mechanism to thwart poaching, and punish the guilty was emphasised. Those who have already been apprehended for killing wildlife should be given exemplary punishment, the citizens agreed. 

The AASU would continue its protest against the Forest Department and the Government as part of a long drawn agitation programme. It was said that whenever there was an incident of rhino poaching, AASU members would organise protest rallies and highlight the Government’s failure.

AASU demands task force to protect rhinos
A STAFF REPORTER 


Plea for protection 
Guwahati, Feb. 27: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) today demanded the formation of a special task force to protect rhinos and said it would henceforth hold the forest department responsible for any deaths. 
The student union’s adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya warned that the divisional forest officers and the rangers of the districts where incidents of rhino killing occur would be taken to task.
“We will launch an agitation to demand punishment for such forest officials. A mere transfer is not enough,” Bhattacharyya told journalists today.
He added that a special task force, equipped with the latest weapons, should be formed immediately to fight rhino poachers. 
The student union would also launch a campaign on an international level to protect one-horned rhinos.
Bhattacharyya said, quoting experts, that Assam has already lost two out of its three species of rhinos over the years and if some positive steps were not taken immediately, the animals would soon become part of the state’s folklore. 
Lashing out at chief minister Tarun Gogoi for his “total silence” on such a serious issue, the student union’s general secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi said the government had totally failed to protect the rhinos of Assam.
The AASU leadership also came down heavily on the Opposition parties for their failure to take up the issue of rhino killings. The union also demanded special incentives for the forest guards in the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
Demanding a CBI probe into the increasing incidents of rhino killing, the student union leadership said there could be a nexus between poachers, politicians and forest officials. 
“Only a CBI probe will reveal the truth,” Gogoi said.
The union also demanded that illegal migrants living in the new additional areas of the national park should be evicted immediately, as these people may be involved in the incidents of rhino killing. 
The student union recently held a public meeting at Kaziranga, seeking solutions to protect the rhinos at the national park. 
Bhattacharyya said nearly 150 forest guards in Kaziranga are casual workers, despite .
having worked for over six to eight years. “How can there be any motivation to perform their duties well when their jobs are not permanent? These guards should be made permanent immediately,” he said.

Poaching in KNP: AASU demands CBI probe
27 February, 2008 07:58:00 Editor 
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The All Assam Students Union has demanded a CBI enquiry into the rhino poachings at the Kaziranga National Park and alleged that the poachers are backed by a section of forest officials and also by some ministers and MLAs.

Addressing a press conference in the city, AASU General secretary tapan Kumar Gogoi said that the failure to check the rhino poachings is proves that a section of forest officials backed some ministers and MLAs have been aiding and abetting the poachers. He said only a CBI probe could unearth the truth behind it.