Narayangarh, June 14 :

Three staffers of Chitwan National Wildlife Park, including its chief have been taken into custody and also suspended after Sikha Ram Chaudhary, accused of poaching rhino, died yesterday.

Following a complaint lodged by the deceased’s brother Mangan Ram Chaudhary with the district police office Bharatpur against the chief of the Chitwan national park Tika Ram Adhikari, assistant conservation officer Kamal Jung Kunwar and Ranger Ritesh Basnet, the ministry has suspended them even as they were taken into police custody.

The Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation suspended the three today, said acting chief district officer of Chitwan Narendra Raj Sharma.

A probe committee led by a joint secretary of the ministry will reach Chitwan tomorrow, he added.

According to the post-mortem report, at least seven ribs of the accused poacher were broken due to physical torture. Villagers demanded a compensation of Rs 1 million and the suspension of the guilty staff.