Baripada: Forest officials and Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) personnel arrested nine poachers and seized nine country-made guns and 30 kg of Sambar meat in a raid conducted in Simlipal Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district on Friday.
According to Forest Department sources, more than 40 poachers from Upartaldiha, Jamudiha, Khalidi of Patasanipur and Kundabai panchayats under Udala police limits had entered the sanctuary with guns for hunting on Friday night.
Acting on a tiff, Forest officials from Dukura and Podadiha ranges along with STPF conducted a raid and nabbed nine poachers and seized guns and other hunting equipment from them. Some poachers managed to escape, the sources said.
The Forest officials were questioning the arrested persons about involvement of others in hunting wildlife and started looking for others who managed to flee.
