In one of the biggest ever actions against poachers, the Odisha police have arrested 21 people and seized 165 illegal arms — including 158 single barrel muzzle loaders (SBML), three pistols, and two small hand guns — in and around the Similipal Tiger Reserve over the past month.
Similipal is one of the largest tracts of contiguous forest with an invaluable ecosystem, in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. The reserve, however, has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons.
Fatal poaching incidents
Two forest personnel were killed by dozens of poachers in two separate incidents in Similipal in May and June this year. The Orissa High Court had also taken strong exception to frequent elephant poaching incidents in Similipal.
In the wake of these incidents, the Mayurbhanj police used intelligence inputs to launch special operations under all 14 police stations in the area adjoining the Similipal Tiger Reserve.
Aiming to de-weaponise the area, three platoons of police forces were deployed in the Similipal. “All resources are provided to the field functionaries to ensure that poaching and related crime are completely eliminated. Continued raids and search operations resulted in seizure of huge number of illegal arms, arms making units, wildlife articles,” the Mayurbhanj police said in a statement. They also conducted awareness campaigns and sensitisation meetings for local residents, on the problem of wildlife poaching.
Large-scale seizures
“During these special operations that spanned over a period of one month, a total of 165 illegal arms including 158 SBML, three pistols, two small hand guns, two long barrel air guns, cash of ₹2,95,000 (proceeds of sale of wildlife articles), a pair of deer horns, pangolin scales, 72 pieces of bearing balls (pellets used to fire SBML) and four handmade bombs were seized. The district police had registered 48 cognizable cases in connection,” the statement added.
“This is a rare recovery of illegal arms from wildlife poachers. Similipal is not only an importance biodiversity hotspot for Odisha, but also for the entire country. We had taken a decision at the highest level to carry out a special operation against possession of illegal firearms in Similipal,” said Sunil Bansal, Director General of Police.
Tribal support
“We have found the involvement of a small section of tribal people in poaching activities. We have registered a case against them. But we have received intelligence and cooperation from a large section of tribals living in Similipal and in its surrounding areas,” Mr. Bansal noted.
The Odisha DGP added: “We don’t want to disturb the ecosystem in which tribals depend on forests for their livelihood. We are hopeful that we will continue to receive intelligence inputs.” The Odisha police will continue to carry out raids for an indefinite period, he said.
Apart from the current police action, the forest department had also seized firearms from people near Similipal. Moreover, firearms were surrendered before police following its call to people. Including the forest department seizures, more than 200 firearms were seized in and around Similipal.
In the wake of the massive poaching activities witnessed in Similipal and the attack on field-level forest officials, it was decided to provide firearm training to forest personnel in Similipal and Angul districts, at the Biju Patnaik Police Training College in Bhubaneswar.
