Five suspected poachers held in Sonai-Rupai sanctuary in Sonitpur

Forest officials in Assam's Sonitpur district have arrested five suspected poachers from the remote Gelgeli forest area inside the Sonai-Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary, recovering a homemade gun and several sharp weapons.

The operation was carried out by a team led by the Kalamati Forest Range Officer, The Assam Tribune reported on Tuesday.

The arrests

The arrested men have been identified as Hapan Soren, Tala Soren, Monty Murmu, Chamato Soren and Mangal Hasda. Officials suspect they were involved in poaching inside the sanctuary. All five have been sent to judicial custody.

It was not immediately clear which animals the group was allegedly targeting. Forest officials have not said whether any animal parts were found.

Sonai-Rupai and its wildlife

Sonai-Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary lies in the foothills along the Assam-Arunachal border in Sonitpur district, north of the Brahmaputra. It adjoins the Nameri landscape and is home to elephants, gaur, deer and a wide range of birds. Its remote forest blocks, such as Gelgeli, are hard to patrol and have long faced pressure from poaching, tree felling and encroachment.

Update from Teok

The Sonitpur arrests came alongside a separate operation in Jorhat, where the Forest Department picked up four suspected rhino poachers from the Barluit forests of Hatishal near Teok on Monday. One of the four was reportedly injured when a rhinoceros attacked him.

A forest official told The Assam Tribune that two rifles and live ammunition were recovered from the Teok group. The official said the men had been staying in the chapori area for several days, worrying villagers, and that forest staff suspect more people could be involved, as the suspects reportedly pointed to others.

Forest Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah said in a social media post that the operation sent a strong message against wildlife crime and that protecting the one-horned rhino remained a priority, especially in areas where rhinos are moving outside protected parks.

What next

Forest officials are questioning the suspects in both cases to trace any wider network, and further searches are under way in the surrounding forests.

NEInsider will update this story when the Forest Department releases more details.