The Odisha Police on Wednesday arrested 21 members of an organised poaching syndicate and seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition after a raid in villages on the fringes of Similipal Tiger Reserve in Mayurbhanj district.

Close on the heels of back-to-back killing of two forest personnel by members of poaching gangs in May and June last in the Tiger Reserve, a major police crackdown on wildlife criminals has come in as a relief to the embattled forest personnel guarding state’s major wildlife habitat, which is home to tigers and elephants besides other protected wild animals.

In the wake of poachers’ lethal attack on forest staff, the state government has already extended legal protective cover to the beleaguered forest officials under section 197 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The State Government has also constituted a joint task force by providing one company of force to combat to cleanse Simlipal of illegal poachers and de-weaponization of the region.

Following the killing of two forest officials in the Similipal Tiger Reserve during patrolling in May and June last, the Mayurbhanj Police had launched special operations under all 14 police stations adjoining the Similipal Tiger Reserve. The operation paid off in the form of the arrest of 21 poachers and seizure of arms from them, said police officials adding that 48 cognizable cases have been registered against the arrested accused persons, said Odisha Director General of Police, Sunil Kumar Bansal.

A total of 165 illegal arms including 158 SBML, three pistols, two small handguns and an equal number of long barrel air guns; cash of Rs 2,95,000 (proceeds of sale of wild life articles), a pair of Deer horns, pangolin scales,72 pieces of bearing balls (pellets used fire firing SBML), 500 grams of gunpowder, four handmade bombs, one arms making unit among others were seized during the operation, they said.

Three platoons of police force are currently deployed in the similipal to disarm the villagers involved in poaching activity.

The district police are conducting awareness campaigns and sensitization meetings with the local people and environmental activists to persuade poachers to give up illegal arms and not to indulge in poaching.

Intelligence-based operations are currently underway to rid Similipal free of illegal activities and poaching and to strengthen the efforts of the forest department in combating illegal poaching, officials maintained.

The operation forms part of Odisha Government’s determined initiative to make Simlipal one of the best ecosystems and one of the safest places for tigers in the world, concluded the officials.