Cops seize two guns from ‘poachers’ in Similipal

Bhubaneswar: Police on Wednesday seized two guns from suspected poachers while raiding several places looking for culprits, who shot dead a forest guard on Monday evening in Similipal Tiger Reserve.
Police said they have launched a cleansing operation with forest officials to dismantle the network of poachers and seize all weapons they use in poaching. On Wednesday, police and forest officers held a discussion led by IGP (eastern range) Himanshu Lal to plan the drive.
“There is a consensus to launch a cleansing drive that will focus on eastern part of Similipal to bust the illegal weapon use in hunting wildlife. While conducting the raid, we have seized two muzzle-loaded single barrel guns along with ammunition from two persons of Deogaon Sahi. Bush meat was also seized from Alhapani. An additional SP and DSP rank officers are leading the special operation in coordination with an assistant conservator of forests and a range officer,” Sagarika Nath, superintendent of police (Balasore), who is in-charge SP of Mayurbhanj, told TOI.
The joint teams of police and forest personnel have intensified their manhunt to nab the poachers, who allegedly killed forest guard Bimal Kumar Jena on Monday evening. As the forest guards tried to chase and catch hold of at least one of them, a bullet fired by one of the poachers from a country-made gun hit Jena from behind killing him on the spot. The poachers thereafter vanished into the forest.