DHENKANAL: Dhenkanal Forest Division busted a poaching racket on Tuesday and arrested six persons including a shopkeeper in Rasol.
The arrested have been identified as Kartika Paika and Litu Paika of Gurjanga, Dola Govinda Garnaik of Kahliberei, Madhav Dehury Birlbori and Niranjan Sahoo of Rasol and Saila Garnaik of Khaliborai under Rasol police limits.
Acting on a tip-off about the gang’s movement in Kandhara reserve forest, police raided the area and nabbed the poachers from their houses on Monday.
Three handmade guns, poaching instruments, explosive materials including three kg gun powder, manichula 500 gm, potash one-and-half kg, sulphur 50 gm, zinc powder 500 gm and unidentified material worth 300 gm were seized from them.
DFO Prakash Chandra Gogineni said the five poachers are directly involved in the hunting of wild animals like boars, deer and many others in Kandhara Reserve Forest under Hindol range for more than a decade now.
Sahoo, the shopkeeper, was involved in illegally selling the explosives to poachers in and around Rasol village.
“Further investigation in the matter has been initiated, especially regarding explosives sale as it is a criminal offence, and action will be taken against the culprits accordingly,” added Gogineni.
Forest officials said, the culprits have confessed to having links with a poachers group in Athagarh-Badamba and operating in the Kandhara forest for some years now. A list was prepared based on the statement of the arrested and efforts are now on to nab the Badamba group.