Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police here foiled an ivory smuggling bid by seizing ivory weighing around 3 kg near Sainik School Square in Bhubaneswar. The police also arrested two persons in this connection on Sunday.
The accused have been identified as Girish Kumar Nayak and Deepak Sahu – both residents of Kandhamal district of Odisha.
Acting on a tip-off, Maitri Vihar police rushed to the Sainik School Square in Bhubaneswar and nabbed two youths while they were smuggling the tusk on a two-wheeler. Police also seized three mobile phones and Rs 160 in cash from their possession.
Police, later, handed over the two accused to the forest ranger for further action under Section 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
It may be noted that a number of elephant deaths/killings occurred in Odisha in the recent years. In January 2023 alone, police arrested four poachers on charges of poaching a tusker in Talabandha wildlife range of Similipal National Park in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. The poachers had allegedly killed the elephant and removed its tusks.
