CUTTACK: Days after allegations of deer poaching on the premises of Aarti Steels Limited in Ghantikhal surfaced on social media, officials of the Athagarh Forest Division on Monday refuted such claims, terming it as a rescue operation.
In-charge divisional forest officer (DFO), Athagarh division Chichilichi Biswal said soon after the purported video went viral, the CCTV footages were verified and it was found that there is no veracity of the allegation. The incident occurred on April 24.
“A spotted deer had come out from the premises of Aarti Steels Limited and was moving towards Athagarh-Dhabaleswar road at about 8.10 am. When security personnel noticed it, they feared the deer’s life could be in danger if it strayed on to the road. Hence, they immediately caught the deer and released it inside the mango orchard on the premises of the company. All this happened within three minutes,” Biswal said.
However, she said, a notice has been issued to Aarti Steel Limited as to why the company authorities had not informed the matter to the forest division.