Forest Guard Shot Dead In Odisha’s Similipal; Two Poachers Detained, Guns Seized

Bhubaneswar: Three days after a forest guard was shot dead inside Similipal National Park in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, police here have detained two among five suspected poachers involved in the killing and seized two guns from them.

“Two muzzle-loaded single barrel guns were seized along with ammunition from two persons of Deogaon Sahi. Bushmeat was also seized from Alhapani,” Balasore SP Sagarika Nath, who is also in charge of Mayurbhanj district, told a presser on Thursday.

The SP further said that all five involved in the incident are local villagers and they have been identified. “The forest guard challenged them when they had gone to hunt for bushmeat on May 22 evening. A bullet fired by one of the poachers from a country-made gun hit Bimal Kumar Jena from behind killing him on the spot,” she said.

A joint team of police and forest personnel have intensified their manhunt to nab the poachers. A cleansing operation has also been launched to dismantle the network of poachers and seize all weapons they use in poaching. An additional SP and DSP rank officers are leading the special operation in coordination with an assistant conservator of forests and a range officer, she added.

All entry points to the sanctuary have been sealed.

Northern Range IG Himansu Lal also conducted a high-level meeting with the authorities of the Similipal Tiger Reserve and chalked out an action plan for the protection of the reserve from poachers.

This is the first such case of a forest guard being killed by poachers within the sanctuary. The incident was reported from Baunsakhala beat under Nana range.