Odisha: Forest department officials arrest elephant poacher accused in 8 cases

At least 14 elephants were killed by poachers in 2020-21 compared to nine in the previous year, while seizures of ivory doubled in the same period, the environment ministry told the Parliament on August 8

Forest department officials in Odisha on Friday arrested a 40-year-old criminal involved in at least eight cases of elephant poaching at a time when the state is under fire for its ‘inaction’ over the rising cases of the incidents.

Representational image.

Officials said they arrested Sk Rajak from his village in Khurda district with the help of local police.

“He has confessed regarding his involvement in illegal smuggling of elephant tusks from Badamba area of Athagarh forest division to Kolkata. He has also revealed some more names of those involved in the poaching and smuggling of ivory in Athgarh division,” said Athagarh DFO Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav.

According to the police, Razak frequently changed his location, and was allegedly hiding at several places in Begunia, Bolagarh, Banki, Tangi, Tikatal and Deuli for the past four days. Following interrogations, search operations have been initiated to nab 14 of his associates.

Taking cognizance of the recent killing of a young tusker in the Athagarh division, the Union environment ministry had sought a report from the state government regarding action taken against poachers.

So far, Odisha has registered 13 cases of unnatural deaths of elephants in forests in the past two months, making it the biggest casualty of pachyderms in a short span of more than a decade. Of the 13, at least five deaths were due to poaching, including that of a 40-year-old tusker whose decomposed carcass with gunshot injuries was found in a cashew orchard in the Jagannath Prasad forest range in Ghumsur North Division of Ganjam district late last month.

At least 14 elephants were killed by poachers in 2020-21 compared to nine in the previous year, while seizures of ivory doubled in the same period, the environment ministry told the Parliament on August 8.

Out of these 14, seven were killed in Meghalaya; two each in Nagaland, Odisha and Tamil Nadu; and one in Kerala. In 2019-20, four elephants were killed in Meghalaya; three in Odisha; and one each in Kerala and Jharkhand.