Keonjhar: In a major breakthrough, forest officials busted an inter-state ivory smuggling racket in Keonjhar range Saturday.
Six elephant poachers were arrested while they were planning to hunt Saturday night at Nalpanga forest, officials said.
The development has triggered panic among wildlife lovers and environmentalists.
According to a report, six poachers with firearms and weapons had dug out a trench in Nalpanga forest. They were hiding near the trench at 9 pm Saturday.
Forest officials had got a tip-off about it and rushed to the spot. They arrested poachers named Fuyoyah Yabin (42) and Saniyo Yabina (51) hailing from Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh, Subash Chandra Hanhaga (33) of Pandapada in Keonjhar, Sama Munda (20) of Jharbelda, Ramesh Munda of Nalpanga and Rajkishore Nayak (28).
However, four others managed to flee the spot. Forest officials seized guns, crowbars, saws, knives and daggers from the poachers.
It was learnt that a gang of six poachers had come from Arunachal Pradesh for elephant poaching. Only two of them were arrested while the four others are on the run.
Forest officials apprehend that if the four poachers are armed, they can kill elephants in the forest.
The entry of poachers to hunt elephants has exposed chinks in the patrolling of forests of this mineral-rich district where mining and timber mafia has long been ruling the roost.
Saturday night’s incident indicates that elephant poaching seems to be taking place inside forests.
In the last two years, four elephants were found dead in Sadar and Bhuyan Juanga Pidha ranges while an investigation into involvement of a racket has been on, said Sadar ranger Ashok Kumar Nayak. PNN
