Assam: Investigating Officers Receive Advanced Training for Strengthening Wildlife Protection at Manas Tiger Reserve

BANSBARI ( Manas National Park )- In a significant move to enhance wildlife protection efforts, 27 investigating officers from six forest divisions recently participated in an intensive five-day refresher training at Bansbari Forest IB, Manas National Park, Assam. The training aims to strengthen their expertise in investigations, evidence collection, and framing wildlife offences incorporating the latest amendments of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and recently amended criminal laws and procedures.

The training was organised by the Field Directorate, Manas  Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to minimise the knowledge gaps among the investigating officers and to update them on relevant sections of Bharatiya Nagarik Surakha Sanhita 2023 (BNSS), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (BSA) and the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 as amended upto 2022.

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The roots of this program date back to April 2011, when WTI first introduced law enforcement training focused specifically on Manas Tiger Reserve jointly with the Assam Forest Department. Over the years, the initiative has evolved into a comprehensive training series. As of December 2024, a total of 754 frontline forest staff have participated in 30 batches of fresher, refresher and advanced training held in various parts of Manas Tiger Reserve that also included 10 days of special training held in Kaziranga NP and Orang NP.

Sanatan Deka, Manager & Project Head, Greater Manas Recovery Project, WTI said, “Such trainings are a part of WTI’continuous efforts for the last 13 years in the Greater Manas landscape to strengthen the capacity of frontline forest staff.”

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“The training is a part of our continuous process to enhance the skills of our Investigating Officers in order to build their capacity and knowledge on the procedural changes as per the latest amendments including the relevant sections of criminal laws and procedures. We received several landmark judgements from the Hon’ble courts and the credit goes to WTI and IFAW for their continuous efforts jointly with us, said Dr. C. Ramesh, IFS, CCF, Field Director, Manas Tiger Reserve.

Mr. Bhupendra Nath Talukdar, Deputy Conservator of Forests (Retd), Assam Forest Department as the mentor of the training said, “Many of our Investigating Officers face a lot of difficulties due to the recent amendments in WPA 1972 and the relevant sections of the criminal laws enacted in 2023 in India due to the knowledge gaps and skills sets required for framing wildlife offence as per the changes. The five-day training with practical sessions aim to cover all these aspects to overcome these challenges.”