In a major crackdown against poaching and illegal felling of trees in reserve forest area, a joint squad of the Forest and Police departments raided Chintalapadu, a forest fringe hamlet of Mulakalapalli mandal, on Tuesday and seized body parts of wild animals and hunting weapons.

The squad arrested 13 dwellers of the remote hamlet, inhabited mostly by migrant Gutti Koya tribals, on charges of poaching.

Seven spotted deer skins, three horns of Chowsinga (four-horned antelope), three horns of sambar, 28 antlers of spotted deer, two horns of wild buffalo and two porcupine spines were seized.

Traditional weapons

A wide range of traditional tools used for allegedly hunting the animals and slaughtering them were also recovered during the raid. The seized tools include 32 snares, 65 bows, 112 arrows, 20 spades, 40 axes, 60 sickles and two traps.

Following Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s recent directions to Forest Department to take all steps to protect wildlife and forest resources. The Forest and Police departments have been working in tandem to crackdown on poachers in this district that is predominantly a Schedule Five Agency area with a large population of indigenous people.

The raid comes a day after the forest staff detained two migrant Adivasis in the same locality on charges of illegally felling trees in the reserve forest area.

Satellite pictures

It was conducted based on specific inputs from the remote sensing data that threw light on partial depletion of tree cover on forest land near Chintalapadu, sources in the forest department said.

Bhadradri-Kothagudem District Forest Officer S. Rambabu, and Palvancha Circle Inspector of Police M. Ramesh, led the surprise raid.

The team arrested 13 migrant Gutti Koya Adivasis of Chintalapadu under the Wildlife Protection Act, Telangana Forest Act and Biodiversity Act, Mr. Rambabu said. Stern action would be initiated against those found indulging in poaching and deforestation, he added.