BHUBANESWAR : A day after a forest guard was shot dead by armed poachers in Hindol range of Dhenkanal, the Forest department has decided to launch a joint operation in the area involving police to crack down on persons possessing illegal arms.
Sources said a meeting was convened by the officials of Dhenkanal forest division and the district police. Divisional forest officer (DFO) Sumit Kumar Kar said they have intensified ground intelligence collection and a joint crackdown will be launched at an appropriate time.
Pradhan, who was leading a 13-member patrol team of Dhenkanal forest division in Hindol section, was gunned down by four armed poachers near Kai reserve forest close to Tantichira village at around 3 am on Saturday. The four suspected poachers involved in the case were arrested by the division and handed over to police the same day.
The Kai reserve forest close to which the forest guard was shot dead by the poachers is merely 10 km away from the boundary of Satkosia buffer and the growing activities of armed poachers in the area has mounted threat to the ongoing conservation activities in the protected habitat.
Following the death of two forest personnel in Similipal in 2023, the authorities of the tiger reserve and Mayurbhanj police had carried out a similar exercise leading to seizure of around 200 firearms and other incriminating materials used in wildlife crimes, from the periphery of the tiger reserve. Around two dozens suspected poachers had also been arrested during that time. The Dhenkanal forest division had also taken up similar exercise in the past and seized multiple arms, officials said.
Meanwhile, police and officials of Dhenkanal forest division are investigating if the accused arrested in connection with Pradhan’s killing have any criminal antecedents. As of now, the accused have not been found to be a part of any organised racket of wildlife crime, sources in the division said.