Poachers assault Odisha forest squad, snatch seized elk meat, gun  

By Express News Service
BARIPADA: Armed poachers launched an audacious assault on forest workers leaving 5 of them injured in Dengam part of Baripada forest division’s Udala vary on Tuesday evening. The hunters weren’t completed as they tied the workers, assaulted them and decamped with their cellphones. They additionally vandalised the forest officers’ car.

A forest safety squad, led by vary officer Arun Behera, raided Jamudihi village and seized 40 kg elk meat and two country-made weapons from a poacher’s home. The workforce was returning to Udala vary workplace with the seized objects when a bunch of round 20 poachers compelled cease their car by blocking the highway with a big wood log. They vandalised the car and snatched round 30 kg seized elk meat and a gun from the squad. 

Later, the poachers took the squad members to an remoted place, tied their arms and thrashed them earlier than leaving.  The injured personnel are Sucharita Mohapatra, Ananta Narayan Choudhury, Deepak Mohanta, Jadunath Singh and Ajay Sahu. The vary officer together with the motive force managed to flee with the car and reached Kundabai police outpost. On being knowledgeable in regards to the incident, two constables went to the village to rescue the detained forest workers.

However, the villagers demanded the remainder of the seized elk meat and gun from the forest officers. The constables needed to return to the outpost late within the evening with out rescuing the squad members. At round 1 am, the forest personnel had been launched by the poachers following which they had been admitted to Udala sub-divisional hospital. Behera mentioned the 5 squad members sustained each exterior and inside accidents on their legs, again and heads.    

Sources mentioned round 70 poachers in Jamudihi had killed two elks in Similipal Tiger Reserve on Monday.Divisional forest officer, Baripada Santosh Kumar Joshi mentioned a case will probably be registered towards the individuals concerned within the assault below Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Besides, a criticism will probably be lodged towards 10 poachers in Udala police station.  

44 kg ivory seized by Baripada division, two heldBaripada: IN an enormous haul, sleuths of Baripada wildlife division seized ivory weighing over 44 kg and arrested two individuals close to Angarpada village below Udala vary on Wednesday. Acting on a tip off, Baripada DFO Santosh Joshi mentioned, a workforce of forest personnel caught Fagu Prasad Hansdah and Pitho Soren red-handed after they had been attempting to promote the ivory weighing 44.90 kg to an individual in Nudadiha.

It is suspected that the accused had been in possession of the tusks of an elephant whose carcass was discovered at Kalamangadia village on January 6. The seizure has thrown mild on poor safety in Similipal because the accused confessed to have noticed the useless elephant earlier than eradicating its tusks.

Speaking to mediapersons, Hansdah mentioned he and Pitho had been accumulating branches of Sal bushes in Similipal after they discovered carcass of the tusker. Since the tusks had been intact, they eliminated these and later entered right into a cope with an individual who needed to obtain the ivory. The useless elephant had an harm on the brow.  Hansdah (46) belonged to Angarpada whereas Soren (45) is from Anantapur. The seized tusks will probably be despatched to the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun for examination.