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19 SUVs, including Mahindra Thar and Scorpio, seized for entering restricted National Park

In a crackdown on illegal access to Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur Forest Department has seized 19 SUVs, including models like the Mahindra Scorpio and Thar. Fourteen of these vehicles were found in Zone 8 of the park, while the remaining five were taken from nearby hotels. The confiscated vehicles, with number plates from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Haryana, were involved in an unauthorized entry into the tiger reserve.

Divisional Forest Officer Ramanand Bhakar reported that a significant number of vehicles, 12 to 15, entered the park on the evening of August 15 when the reserve was closed for the monsoon season. The department is investigating how these vehicles bypassed the surveillance. Despite the safari being closed due to monsoon conditions, luxury cars attempted an adventure trip, breaching the restricted areas meant for approved vehicles only.

The forest officials conducted a search in Zones 6 to 10, areas where private vehicles are prohibited, after a video showing people in the tiger reserve went viral. They discovered over a dozen vehicles in Zone 8. Given the park’s rigorous surveillance and anti-poaching efforts, such breaches are rare. Violators of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, face fines of up to Rs 1 lakh.

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