Rourkela: Officials of the Bonai Forest Division successfully apprehended a gang of poachers after months of close surveillance, leading to the arrest of six individuals and the seizure of critical wildlife contraband.
“It was a well-coordinated operation by our teams, and we managed to catch the entire gang,” said Lalit Patra, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Bonai.
The operation took place in the Jarda forest range, where the poachers had been planning a large-scale operation in the forest rich in wildlife.
The arrested poachers are Raj Kumar Pradhan, 35, Ramani Ranjan Patra, 28, Sarat Naik, 50, Bhima Kishan, 27, Narayana Hasti, 41, and Biswanath Hasti, 55.
Except Sarat Naik and Bhima Kishan, who are from Sambalpur, the others are residents of Kello village under Gurundia police jurisdiction.
“We had been closely monitoring them for the last three months, gathering intelligence, which ultimately led to their arrest.
The operation involved the Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) of Bonai division, range offi cers from Jarda and Tamra, and an additional 35 departmental staffers,” said Patra.
The poachers were found in possession of five country-made guns, a monkey skin, a barking deer trophy, snare traps, a bow and arrows, gunpowder, pellets, two mobile phones, one motorcycle, feathers of the Indian peafowl, and a porcupine spine.
“These items are frequently used in the illegal hunting of wildlife, and this is a major setback for poaching operations in the Bonai forest division,” said Patra.
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“My team acted with precision and caution while the poachers were under surveillance,” he added.
Patra further noted that, given that two of the suspects are from Sambalpur district, their records will be examined for potential links to poaching activities in neighbouring areas.
Further interrogation is expected to shed light on their modus operandi and possible connections with other poachers.
PNN
