Police arrested ten individuals, including a former deputy inspector general (DIG) and a serving sub-inspector on Wednesday night for their alleged involvement in poaching and smuggling wildlife.

They were nabbed while transporting a wild boar from the Koshi Barrage area in ward 1 of Hanumannagar Kankalini Municipality, Saptari.

The detained include former DIG Gyan Bikram Shah of Itahari and Sub-inspector Sanjay Neupane of Biratnagar. Also apprehended are Aakash Baharkher Yadav, son of former deputy Speaker Ganga Prasad Yadav of Kankalini Municipality-8; Laxman Mandal of Tirhut Rural Municipality-2; Janardan Raut of Hanumannagar Kankalini-2; Pradeep Limbu of Itahari Sub-metropolitan City-2; and Rabin Das of Rajbiraj Municipality-7. Om Shankar Prasai of Hanumannagar Kankalini Municipality-5, Laxman Mandal of Ward 1, and Shankar Khidhari Yadav of Ward 3 of the same municipality were also arrested.

The police recovered a rifle, two magazines, 15 rounds of ammunition, three binoculars, a tripod, and a hammer from their possession. They also seized a tractor loaded with the dead boar and a jeep.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Dhoondiraj Neupane, spokesperson for the District Police Office, Saptari, stated that the investigation is ongoing.