BALASORE: The Forest department raided an island located off Kirtania coast in Balasore and arrested a poacher with 410 migratory waterfowls on Wednesday morning.
The accused is Kalicharan Mandal (22) of Chowmukh under Baliapal police limits. Forest personnel seized an engine-powered boat and a net from his possession. Four associates of Mandal managed to flee before the forest team reached the spot.
Baripada divisional forest officer (DFO) Pratik Prakash Indalkar said the raid was conducted based on credible intelligence regarding illegal hunting of migratory waterfowls in the sea. Acting on the tip-off, Jaleswar range officer-in-charge Sanjay Kumar Mohanty formed a special team. At about 4 am on Wednesday, the team caught the accused while he was trapping birds on the island.
At least 297 migratory birds recovered from Mandal were found alive. The rest 113 waterfowls had died after being trapped in the net. The live birds were released immediately. The birds comprised 221 black-headed gulls and 189 brown-headed gulls, said forest officials.
Veterinary doctors were called to the spot to conduct postmortem on the dead birds. The carcasses were later buried in the sand following the prescribed protocol.
The DFO said the accused and his four associates had crossed the flooded Subarnarekha river in a wooden boat to reach the island, where they laid the net to trap migratory birds. When forest personnel arrived, four suspects escaped in the boat, while Kalicharan was apprehended.
During interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed to the offence and revealed that he and his associates regularly hunted migratory birds on the island before selling them in Chowmukh area of Baliapal and nearby localities.
A case has been registered under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The accused was produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody. Efforts are underway to trace and arrest the remaining accused, the officials added.
