Maneka GandhiMP has written toTamil Naduchief minister M K Stalin seeking a policy decision to empower the state Police with powers to enforce theWildlife Protection Act.
She said a number of forest guards and officials had been caught in the last few years poaching and selling wildlife items. These officials were protected by senior officials who did not want to expose the Corruption in the department.
She said the forest department personnel were not poaching but also stealing confiscated items from range offices. Recently, Kaliyappan of Krishnagiri was caught in Bengaluru in Karnataka with two elephant tusks. He revealed that his son worked in the forest department in Hosur and that the tusks had been stolen from the range office.