Baripada: Intensifying the drive against poachers in and around Similipal National Park in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, police arrested three persons and seized at least eight country-made guns following raids at different places.
Stating that the drive against wildlife offenders has been continuing in the area for the last few days, Inspector General of Police (Eastern Region) Himanshu Lal said at least 16 weapons have so far been seized during the special operation.
The purpose of the drive is to sanitise the fringe area to maintain the sanctity of Similipal. The aim is to provide a safe environment for the tourists as well as to protect animals, he said.
People in the area have also been urged to share information about the poachers and those keeping or manufacturing weapons.
The arrested persons have been identified as Mahendra Singh (30), Shyamsundar Singh (28) and Madan Singh (35). Three country-made guns were seized from their houses.
Mayurbhanj SP B. Gangadhar said that the arrests were made based on reliable intelligence inputs. A raid was conducted at Rentasahi village under Badasahi police limits on Friday night based on a piece of intelligence input.
On the basis of information collected through these sources police conducted a search in Bahalda forest under Khunta police limits and seized five more country-made guns hidden in the forest, he said.
Three platoons of police force have already been deployed and soon another one more will be deployed to strengthen the security measures. There has been a substantial drop in criminal activities following the launch of the special drive, he added.
