Jaipur: After repeatedly denying the presence of any poacher, despite being provided with evidence, the wildlife department of Rajasthan was left stupefied after a man admitted to have killed a tigress in the Sariska Tiger Reserve and selling her body parts for Rs 1.5 lakh.

The poacher, identified as Sarfuddin, confessed to have killed the tigress ST-5 in February and confessed that four others were involved in the act. After killing the big cat, the poachers sold her skin, teeth, hair and flesh for Rs 1.5 lakh.

While Sarfuddin was taken into custody on October 23, his accomplices are still absconding.

Earlier, a committee set up by the Rajasthan minister for forest and wildlife, Gajendra Singh Khimswar, concluded that poachers were present in Sariska and Ranthambore after they found traps. However, the wildlife department of Rajasthan kept dismissing the reports. 

Tigress ST-5 was one of the first big cats that were relocated in 2010 to the Sariska Tiger Reserve from the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in order to save the declining tiger population there. 

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that a tiger has been killed in the region. In April, poachers are believed to have poisoned two tiger cubs to death in Ranthambore.