Panaji, March 11 In a fatal shooting accident, a poacher was accidentally shot dead by his partner while hunting wild boar in the forest near Sanquelim village in North Goa, police said on Wednesday.
The deceased Santosh Govekar succumbed to gunshot wounds while he was being ferried to a local hospital.
"We have arrested Anand Gawade who had used an illegal firearm for the hunting trip during which he accidentally shot Santosh Govekar," Bicholim Police Inspector Sanjay Dalvi confirmed on Wednesday.
Though illegal, hunting of wild boar, a protected species under Schedule II of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, is commonplace in Goa forested areas.
The contraband meat of the boar fetches sellers, mostly poachers, a high price and is sold to known contacts and restaurants who sell the game meat illegally and for a premium.
( With inputs from IANS )