2 Sep 2023

In its crackdown against poachers in view of the killing of two forest personnel within the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), the Mayurbhanj police in Odisha have recovered a total of 165 illegal arms and arrested 21 people in the past two months.

The seizures during the special operation conducted across all 14 police stations adjoining STR include 158 single-barrel muzzle loader, three pistols, two small hand guns, two long-barrel air guns, gun powders and handmade bombs. An arms making unit was also destroyed in the operation. The police also seized a pair of deer horns, pangolin scales and cash worth Rs 2.95 lakh (proceeds of sale of wildlife articles).

With the Odisha government having decided to eliminate poaching and related crimes within STR, director general of police (DGP) Sunil Kumar Bansal on Wednesday reviewed the situation on the ground.

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