Police gear up to crackdown poachers making bomb

SRIKAKULAM: As illegally made country made bombs have been taking many lives in the district including four deaths recently at Bhagavandaspeta village of Ponduru mandal in the district, police are gearing up to crack down on poachers making bombs.Deaths due to the explosion of country made bombs, on and off poaching time, are by and large underreported as locals are hushing up those incidents. Irrespective of the area, preparation of bombs are in full swing particularly among toddy tappers’ community who mostly engage in hunting boar and other wild animals that do not come under wild life Acts.Due to increased demand for wild boar meat, priced at Rs 300 to Rs 450 per kg, poachers are busy hunting boar by placing bombs at strategic points in the forest. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Mohammad Thayyab told Express, “Wild boar with horns in the forest area, is a schedule IV animal as per the wildlife Acts. A boar with no horns goes towards farm fields to hunt but does not attack humans. Presently, farmers and other poachers are hunting boar and not wild boar in the district,” he added. Stringent action has been initiated by the police in every nook and corner of the district particularly along the forest area, where  people are reportedly hunting wild boar also, police said. Superintendent of police, Srikakulam KVV Gopala Rao told Express that clear directions to the staff right down to the sub-inspector level have been given to investigate and gather information about the preparation of bombs and sales practices. Also, intelligence officials have been given the task to nab the accused. Poachers would be punished seriously if they are caught making country made bombs, Rao said.We are appealing to farmers to report any damage of crops due to animals, to forest officials instead of going hunting with country made bombs, he said.