Rhino killed in Kaziranga on day of royal visit

 On a day when the royal British couple Prince William and Kate were wrapping up their two-day visit to the Kaziranga National Park, a rhino was killed brutally.

According to Assam forest department sources, the department staff had recovered the carcass of the rhino from the Burapahar range of the park on Thursday morning. The poachers shot the rhino with automatic weapons and took away its horn.

On the wee hours of Thursday, the forest guard had a fierce gun fight with the poachers who gave the guards a slip in the cover of darkness.

The incident took place while the British royal couple was spending a night at the Difflo River lodge, adjacent to the national park.

On Wednesday morning, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had visited the Bagori range of the park, 30 km from the Burapahar range.

The royal couple had also interacted with the front line forest guards who are involved in anti-poaching operations.

The couple left for Bhutan on Thursday morning.

Anti-poaching drive
Meanwhile, the Assam government has instructed to start immediate anti-poaching operations in Kaziranga, official sources added.