In A First, Dedicated Company Of APR Force To Guard Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve

Baripada: In a first in India, a dedicated company of armed police constabulary will be deployed in Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district to strengthen protection measures against poaching and wildlife crimes.

The unit will be led by Mayurbhanj SP.

The armed force will be a part of the Joint Task Force notified by the Forest department last year, in view of the killing of two forest frontline workers by alleged poachers.

“I am directed to convey the sanction of the Governor for creation of a dedicated one company of Armed Police Reserve (APR) Force with creation of 131 posts of different categories in Mayurbhanj district for constitution of a Joint Task Force already notified vide FE && CC Department correspondent in order to strengthen the protection measures in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), Mayurbhanj,” the notification issued by Additional Chief Secretary Satyabrata Sahu said.

The company will include 87 sepoys, 30 havildars, three driver havildars, three assistant sub-inspectors (armed), three sub-inspectors (armed), one inspector (armed), one assistant commandant (armed) and three drivers. The company will be headquartered in Mayurbhanj.

The notification further stated that the newly created posts will be filled up as per the provisions in the Orissa Reservation of Vacancies (ORV) Act. All expenses for this dedicated force will be borne by the Forest and Environment department.

The decision was taken following meetings chaired by the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary, and further clarifications from the Forest, Environment & Climate Change (FE & CC) department.

Though an elite squad called SRPF, comprising of 74 men & women, guards one-horned rhinoceros at Kaziranga National Park in Assam, this unit is reportedly the first in the country where an armed police company is being deployed specifically for the protection of a wildlife sanctuary.