In the late 90s, when naxalism was at its peak in Telangana (Undivided Andhra), forest officers often faced dangerous situations. There were times when the Naxals would take away the guns and firearms from the officers. To counter this, the forest department decided to give up their firearms but not their determination to fight wildlife crimes and apprehend poachers.
Even without firearms, the forest officials did not back down when facing poachers carrying heavy firearms. In two recent incidents, forest officers in Khammam and Kanakagiri displayed remarkable bravery by apprehending poachers without any firearms.
On May 3, 2024, Forest Staff Officers U. Suresh and B. Nageswara arrested two poachers at Bheemaram Reserve Forest based on credible information. They confiscated a single-barrel gun, live and used bullets, and hunting arms.
Another incident occurred on April 6, 2024, when Deputy Range Officer KV Rama Rao and his team, unarmed themselves, managed to stop six individuals carrying a country-made sniper rifle, knife, and small axes during a night patrol in Kanakagiri Reserve Forest. Their courageous and swift action protected the wildlife.
DFO Khammam, Mr. Siddharth Vikram Singh expressed his pride in his team’s bravery and emphasized the need for re-issuing firearms due to dealing with armed criminals being dangerous.
Highlighting the need for arms, Mr. Singh mentioned the dangers posed by the land mafia and heavily armed poachers, especially in high-value urban areas like Khamman. Underlining the significance of timely information, he acknowledged his team’s valor and expressed his hope for the department to reissue the firearms.
CASE 1
In the summer, wildlife comes out at night to find water because there’s not much water around. The poachers take advantage of this and become very active. Mr. Singh said that forest staff members U. Suresh, B. Nageswara, and others went to Bheemaram RF to look for poachers on Friday at 8 pm. They found some poachers with a gun and bullets around midnight and managed to arrest them. It was a dangerous situation, but the officers showed bravery and arrested the poachers. Further investigation revealed that a local person was helping the poachers. The officials in charge are Mr. Singh and the Forest Divisional Officer, Khammam, and they are investigating the case. The accused will be taken to court for further action as per the instructions of the District Forest Officer, Khammam.
CASE 2
In a separate incident on 06.04.2024 around 10 PM, Dy Range Officer KV Rama Rao and his team were patrolling in the Kanakagiri Reserve Forest, Gattugudem section when they came across 6 individuals acting suspiciously. Upon searching them, they found a homemade gun (Sniper Rifle gun), a knife, and a small axe. The accused were arrested for attempting to hunt wild animals and trespassing in the Reserve Forest area using a homemade gun. It was revealed that one of the accused, who came from West Maredupally in Hyderabad, had brought hunting equipment including a homemade gun, knife, and small axes for hunting wildlife like leopard, sloth bear, and deer. The forest patrolling staff noticed and apprehended the accused individuals and conducted an investigation.
