BHAWANIPATNA: Forest department on Thursday arrested five persons for allegedly planning to hunt from Narla range in Kalahandi district.
Forest guards and para-forest workers were patrolling in Urladani reserve forest under the Belgaon section of Narla range on Wednesday night when they noticed two suspicious men on a motorcycle. They intercepted them and upon search, recovered a loaded country-made gun from them. During the initial interrogation, one of the suspects managed to flee the scene on the motorcycle. However, the team successfully detained the other person, Malay Ranjan Bagh of M Rampur area under Narla range.
Following the interrogation, officials carried out further raids and arrested four more persons from M Rampur area.
The accused are Bipin Bhoi, Bablu Nayak, Budu Majhi and Dinabandhu Maharana, all of the M Rampur area. During the search operations, forest officials seized a significant cache of hunting equipment intended for poaching wildlife.
The items recovered included six country-made guns, live ammunition, sharp weapons, flashlights and wire snares, among others.