BERHAMPUR: Two personnel of Boudh forest division sustained bullet injuries after being shot at by unidentified miscreants during patrolling on Tuesday night. The injured persons were identified as Nilamani Pradhan (29) of Saranda village and Naba Sahu (23) of Badabag. Both are engaged as forest watchers in the division.
Sources said a team of forest officials and guards led by ACF Ashish Kanhar was patrolling in Baghiapada section in the night. When the team stopped their vehicle near Khaliapalli Chowk, five unidentified miscreants arrived on the spot on motorcycles. Without any provocation, they started firing at the forest personnel and fled. The miscreants fired at least 4-5 rounds at the patrol team.
Nilamani and Naba sustained bullet injuries on shoulder and back respectively. They were rushed to Boudh district headquarters hospital. Later, Nilamani was shifted to VIMSAR, Burla in Sambalpur after his condition deteriorated.
On being informed, police reached the spot and started investigation. During search, one empty bullet case was recovered from the spot. Divisional forest officer (DFO) of Boudh Debapriya Kampa said the incident took place at around 1.30 am. Apart from the two forest staff, vehicle of the patrol team suffered damages after being hit by bullets in the firing.
“The miscreants are yet to be identified. An inquiry has been ordered into the incident and efforts are underway to identify and nab the persons involved in the attack,” the DFO added. Though the exact reason behind the attack is yet to be ascertained, it is suspected that the wildlife mafia could be involved in the firing incident as the Forest department has intensified patrolling to check poaching and ganja farming in the region.