In an alarming security breach at the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla in Pune, a suspected poacher was killed while his accomplices escaped after trading rounds with the NDA military personnel. This is the second such incident since March this year. The suspect was killed in the first instance.
According to NDA sources, the sprawling campus is home to varied flora and fauna, apparently protected by the defence authorities themselves as a part of their environmental and wildlife conservation initiative. Deer, peacocks and wild pigs are often spotted in the heavily forested area stretching from Bavdhan to Kondhwa.
Around 1.15 am on Friday, an armed patrol party of the NDA Security Section Staff (NDA Police) spotted four to five suspects lurking in the wooded area on the Periphery Road near the Manoj Pandey block. Upon being asked to stop, one of them shot in the direction of the troops following which they returned fire. In the ensuing encounter that lasted for a few minutes, a poacher, identified as Karmas Rajput (22), was killed while his accomplices escaped. “NDA security personnel had been scanning the boundaries of the academy since the third week of July after specific intelligence inputs about the possibility of sensitive military installations and training establishments being targetted by terror elements,” an NDA statement said.
“Following a complaint by the NDA officials, we have registered a case of attempt to murder, trespassing of the IPC and relevant sections of the Arms Act against the deceased and other unidentified persons,” said senior PI Sunil Darekar of the Warje-Malwadi police. On March 17 this year, NDA security personnel caught four professional hunters around 7.45 am and recovered seven hunting dogs, three spears, two handmade stun bombs, and four cellphones. A wild boar killed by the poachers was also seized.