Tumudibandha: Forest officials arrested two men on charges of poaching in the Belghar forest range of Kandhamal district after a night patrol intercepted them returning from the jungle with country-made firearms, an officer said Monday.
The accused were identified as Surendra Jani (27) and Upendra Jani (40), both residents of Deshughati village under Jhiripani panchayat. According to forest officials, a patrolling team apprehended the two men near Deshughati Chowk in Jhiripani panchayat late Sunday night as they were returning from a hunting trip in the forest.
The team seized two country-made guns, two cartridges (one of them live), four bullets weighing 30 grams, 46 grams of gunpowder, two headlamps and other hunting equipment from their possession.
The arrests come amid heightened vigilance in the area following the deaths of two elephants in the Belghar forest tract in recent weeks.
Rajanikanta Meher, range officer of Belghar, said a case (OR No. 14/2026-27) had been registered and both accused were arrested in connection with the incident. They were produced before a court in Tumudiband ha Monday and remanded to judicial custody, he said.