Hyderabad: Four men were arrested by forest officials in the Komaram Bheem Asifabad district in connection with the death of a tigress. Its electrocuted carcass was found near the forest-revenue border of Yellur village on May 14.Interrogating the accused led to the recovery of the tigress’s claws, jaw, teeth, nails and whiskers — key body parts believed to have been extracted for illegal sale.“The four accused have confessed to setting electric traps in the past. We are still questioning them because we suspect they are part of a larger poaching network that uses high-voltage electric traps to hunt wild boar and antelope for their meat. In this instance, it is believed that the tigress was unintentionally caught in one such trap,” said Neeraj Tibrewal, the district forest officer (DFO), Asifabad.Investigations revealed that the poachers had illegally tapped power lines and strung live wires for almost 500 metres, posing a lethal risk to both animals and humans.According to officials, after electrocuting the tigress, the accused dragged the carcass from the forest to a stream within revenue land, where they skinned it and removed the valuable parts. “These were then hidden in one of the accused’s houses in Penchikalpet mandal. The body parts were later recovered by us,” the DFO added.The DFO said the team is questioning habitual poachers and searching the surrounding villages. “We intend to resolve the issues of poaching and illegal electricity supply once and for all,” he added.Forest officials confirmed that such illegal electrification practices have long been a serious concern in the region. Over the past five to six years, at least 27 people have died as a result of similar high-voltage traps set up by either poachers or local farmers trying to protect their crops from wild animals. “Despite repeated complaints, the electricity department failed to act against illegal power tapping.We also recommended replacing all exposed wires with insulated ones, but little progress has been made,” he said.