Phulbani: Police have seized more than 30 country-made guns during a special district-wide operation to crackdown on illegal firearms in Odisha’s Kandhamal district in the last two months.
More than ten persons have been arrested from different parts of the district during the period for allegedly illegally possessing these firearms.
Most recently, Kandhamal Sadar police arrested Saroj Mallik from Tadameru village under Sudrukumpa area and seized one country-made firearm from his possession. Based on a specific information, police acted swiftly and apprehended him after a raid when the gun was found with him without a valid license.
According to sources, the operation is being carried out in many areas with dense forest cover, where illegal country-made guns are allegedly used for various unlawful activities including rampant hunting of wildlife. Acting on specific intelligence, police teams are conducting raids in interior areas including remote villages to check unlawful possession of firearms.
Recurring incidents of poaching and wildlife hunting reported by the forest department officials prompted police to take stringent action. This special enforcement drive will continue to check illegal owning of guns as well as to prevent harm to wildlife. The special operation will identify the offenders and strict action will be taken against them, a senior police officer said.
