Gunfire Attack On Forest Officials During Crackdown On Ivory Mafia In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Unidentified miscreants opened fire at forest department and Special Task Force (STF) personnel, who were returning from an operation against ivory mafia in Odisha’s Rayagada district.

Though no one was injured in the four rounds of gun attack, the vehicles carrying the forest and STF personnel were badly damaged in the attack.

Sources said the forest officials got a tip off from their Chhattisgarh counterparts about illegal ivory trade. Soon a team of forest officials of Muniguda Range under Rayagada Forest Division in association with STF personnel launched joint raids at Malimunda and Jarapa villages on Sunday. They arrested five ivory mafias from Patraguda locality and seized few pieces of ivory from them.

Trying to find out if more people were involved in the illegal ivory racket, the officials were on a search operation at Jarapa village when unidentified miscreants fired bullets at them. Though no one was injured in the four rounds of firing, their vehicles were damaged.

Forest department sources revealed that they received inputs from Chhattisgarh that an illegal ivory trading racked was operating in Rayagada district in association with ivory mafias from the neighbouring state. Accordingly, they launched a joint raid and succeeded.

But the gun attack by unidentified assailants spoiled all their efforts. Later forest officials filed a case at Muniguda PS in this connection and sought help of the police. The cops and forest officials have initiated further probe into the incident, sources added.