Keonjhar: Forest officials have arrested two poachers on the charges of beating a deer to death in Janghira under Keonjhar forest range. The accused Heranjan Patra and Dibakar Patra of Nalapanga were produced in a court Sunday.
However, the main accused, Sanjay Sahu, has been absconding, said divisional forest officer (DFO) Santosh Joshi.
Forest officials seized the carcass and sent it for post-mortem while an investigation was launched.
According to preliminary probe, the animal died due to strikes on its head.
There are a large number of deer in Barang reserve forest in Ghasipura block, Nalpanga reserve forest under Harichandanpur block and Samakoi reserve forest under Telkoi. The animals often stray out of the forests into human habitations in search for water and food. But they end up being attacked by dogs or killed by poachers, according to a report.
Environmentalists and social activists demanded patrolling by foresters and other protective measures for the safety of the animals.
Poacher held with 40kg boar meat
Jagannathprasad: Acting on a tip-off, Jagannathprasad forest officials Sunday arrested a poacher after a sudden raid at Giridipali village under this police limits in Ganjam district.
The raid team also seized 40kg of boar beat from his possession. The accused hunter has been identified as Rajiv Kumar Nayak.
According to the forest officials, ranger Rabindra Kumar Kar received a tip-off that Rajiv was hunting a boar at Kandhannuapali cashew forest under Jhadbhumi panchayat. He along with other officials swung into action and reached the forest.
Sensing the movement of forest officials, Rajiv tried to flee. However, the officials chased him and managed to nab him.
A case was registered and Rajiv was produced in court. Along with ranger Kar were forester Krushnachandra Swain, Rameswari Sahu, Jitendra Kumar Digal, forest guards Sarita Pradhan, Ramesh Chandra Behera and Sukanti Sabat during the raid.
PNN