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Odisha: Forest officer shot dead inside Similipal tiger reserve by poachers
Hansdah and other forest officials had intercepted a group of poachers inside the range at around 1.30am on Saturday and when they tried to seize the weapons, one of the poachers shot him, said officials
A forest officer patrolling the Similipal Tiger Reserve was allegedly shot dead by poachers late Friday night, officials said.
Officials said Mati Hansdah, a tribal forester, along with other forest officials was patrolling near Gamchacharan beat camp in the Upper Barahakumuda range which is part of the core area of the 2,700 sq km Similipal Tiger Reserve of Mayurbhanj district.
Hansdah and other forest officials had intercepted a group of poachers inside the range at around 1.30am on Saturday and when they tried to seize the weapons, one of the poachers shot him, said officials.
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“The incident took place near Gamchacharan beat camp. The six-members forest team were patrolling when they came across a group of poachers. Our staff intercepted them and one of the poachers fired wounding Hansdah. He was rushed to Karanjia Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. We have registered a case in connection with the incident,” said deputy director (Similipal north division) Sai Kiran.
This is the second such incident of a forest officer being killed by poachers in one month, officials said. On May 22 evening, forest guard Bimal Kumar Jena was shot by a group of 26 poachers inside the core area of the tiger reserve while the latter were carrying a live barking deer.
Last month, a tribal youth, who was allegedly part of a gang of poachers, was killed inside the tiger reserve when forest officials fired to scare them away. Though villagers alleged that the youth was herding buffaloes and had gone to the forest to search his livestock, forest officials claimed he was part of a gang of armed poachers.
Once known for housing over 100 tigers, Similipal has seen a drastic fall in their numbers. In the 2016 all-India estimation of tigers, the reserve was found to have 26 tigers. While the estimation of number of each tiger reserve in the country is expected by next month, officials said the number may have declined to 15 as it has turned into a hunting ground for poachers.
Similipal witnessed 11 elephant deaths since 2019 including, four in 2021-22. In December last year, three forest officials of the Similipal tiger reserve were arrested over the burning of a carcass of a tusker in the core area.
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On January 21, the decomposed carcass of an elephant with its tusks missing was found in Similipal reserve. On September 20, 2021, forest officials seized a leopard skin and arrested two suspected poachers from a hotel in Baripada town near the Similipal reserve.
A research paper published by former forest officials of the state, including former chief wildlife warden Harishankar Upadhyay in 2019 said that the low population of prey bases such as sambar, wild pig, barking deer, chital and mouse deer was a major factor in depleting tiger population of the reserve.
The research found that between 2011 and 2014, the prey base density was 4.3 animals per square km in the pre-monsoon season to 28.9 animals per square km in the post-monsoon season which was very low compared to other tiger reserves of India.
