Shillong, Sep 19: The Eastern Regional Office of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) at the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in collaboration with the Wildlife Wing of Meghalaya’s Forest and Environment Department, organised an inter-agency coordination meeting last week, a press release stated today.
The meeting took place on September 12 at the Forest Headquarters in Shillong, with the purpose of promoting inter-agency coordination and collaboration to combat wildlife crime in the region, particularly in Meghalaya.
In his inaugural address, HC Chaudhary, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden, Meghalaya, sought cooperation and support from all concerned to protect and conserve precious wildlife wealth.
Manoj Kumar, Joint Director, WCCB, provided an overview of the current status of wildlife crimes in India and the efforts required to combat them. The meeting discussed real-time sharing of intelligence, modus operandi, coordination in joint operations, updating wildlife crime databases, and capacity-building training. All agencies present agreed to collaborate to effectively combat wildlife crime in the region.
Senior officers from various state and central enforcement agencies attended the meeting, including the Meghalaya Police, Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Bureau of Investigation, Narcotics Control Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Meghalaya Forensic Science Laboratory, and Assam Forest Department.
The meeting was followed by a two-day capacity-building training on September 15 and 16 for field functionaries involved in combating wildlife crime.
The training was attended by 28 officers from the Wildlife Wing of the Forest and Environment Department and seven officers from the Meghalaya Police. The training module included sessions on implementing the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972; cybercrime; case documentation; present crime scenario in the Northeast region; modus operandi; mobile forensics; and relevant provisions of the BNSS 2023 and the Indian Evidence Act 2023.
Senior officers from the WCCB, led by SS Patil, Regional Deputy Director, WCCB, Eastern Region, and eminent experts from various fields delivered lectures during the training programme. The training helped officers understand the finer details and nuances of investigating and prosecuting wildlife offences, the release said.
