BHUBANESWAR: The suspected killing of a Royal Bengal Tiger and the recent Maoist onslaught at Similipal has prompted the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) to take note of the situation. A top WCCB official today met Chief Wildlife Warden BK Patnaik and proposed capacity building measures for both police and forest officials deployed in and around the 2,750 sq km national park. The measures will specifically deal with augmentation of expertise in wildlife crime and investigation. Since a low conviction rate in wildlife crimes is a major reason behind the spurt in incidence, Rina Mitra, Additional Director of WCCB, suggested that the Bureau will support training of forest and police officials of Jashipur, Udala, Khunta, Kaptipada, Karanjia and other such places in the periphery of STR. The Wildlife Wing has been asked to prepare a list of officials so that the training programmes could be organised at the earliest. Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar- Cuttack, Bijay Kumar Sharma, who was present in the meeting, proposed that WCCB could provide crime scene kits for better management of evidence. Crime scene kits are fingerprinting kits made available to investigators for securing vital clues in criminal offences. Wildlife crime investigation suffers mostly from weak evidence gathering. The training modules as well as supply of crime scene kits could come handy for officials handling the cases and build a strong case for prosecution. Mitra stressed revival of the Wildlife Crime Cell in the State. Though the Forest Department, earlier, had proposed a DFOranked official to man the cell, the Government was yet to sanction it. The meeting decided that an ACF-ranked officer will be deployed for the time being to rejuvenate the cell which will help create a crime database for the State. Mitra suggested that provisions under Section 54 of the Wildlife Protection Act which stipulates mandatory reporting of offences to Chief Wildlife Warden be adhered to strictly. Top officials of the Wildlife Wing also attended the meeting.