Will ask NTCA to probe whereabouts of tiger Jai: Minister

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) would be asked to conduct a probe into the whereabouts of Jai, the iconic tiger from Umred-Karhandla wildlife sanctuary which has been untraceable for over four months, Union minister Anil Dave said today.
The Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests, who was in the city in connection with BJP's 'Tiranga Yatra', summoned State Wildlife Warden Shree Bhagwan and enquired about Jai.
He sought the details and the latest update on the big cat which went missing since April.
"The NTCA would be asked to conduct a probe into the whereabouts of Jai. I will ask the authorities concerned to take the issue seriously and initiate an inquiry," said Dave.

A cash reward of Rs 50,000 was announced for providing genuine information about the seven-year-old tiger whose disappearance has prompted wildlife enthusiasts to camp at the villages around the sanctuary in the hope of getting a lead.
Jai was named after a character in iconic Bollywood film 'Sholay'.

Its disappearance came to light when the radio collar attached to it stopped transmitting any signal.
Subsequently, a massive search-and-rescue operation was launched by the Forest Department and the wildlife enthusiasts soon joined in.
As regards the growing menace of poaching in the country, Dave said, "The government would seek help from the Interpol and other such agencies of neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Nepal to prevent poaching."

Earlier, Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar had demanded a CBI probe into the whereabouts of Jai even as BJP MP Nana Patole expressed his fear that the big cat had fallen victim to poachers.
It was radio-collared by wildlife expert Bilal Habib last year but no signal was transmitted from the gadget in the last few months.
Mungantiwar recently met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi and demanded a CBI probe into the whereabouts of Jai.
Patole recently wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming that two more tigers from the region were killed by poachers in connivance with Forest officials.