Berhampur: Police seized eight country-made guns from Birimal forest under Kandhamal district’s Tumudibandha police station limits on Wednesday.Acting on a tip-off, police conducted massive raids on Birimal forest. During the search, they found eight country-made guns dumped in the forest and seized those, said Subham Bhosale, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Baliguda.He suspected the miscreants might have concealed the firearms for illegal hunting of wild animals and other unlawful activities, he said. Police said no one was arrested.With these, police have seized 41 country-made illegal firearms from different places of the district in a fortnight police sources said on Thursday. The highest number of 18 firearms was seized by Tumudibandha police followed by Tikabali (4), three each in Gochapada, Diringbadi, two each in Bamunigaon, Belghar, Raikia, Chakapada, while one each in Phiringia, Khajuripada and Baliguda police station limits, source said.During the period, police arrested 16 people, including three in Tikabali police station limits followed by two persons each in Bamunigaon and Belaghar, police said. Police also unearthed two illegally-run country-made gun-making units at Pandirisima and Labanya Nagar under Chakapada and Tumudibandha police stations respectively, police said.Several gun-making equipment along with firearms were seized from the units, police said. Bhosal said the patrolling was intensified in the forest areas after a 33-year-old man, suspected to be a wildlife poacher was shot dead by two other poachers on May 1 in the forest areas at Esubali under Belaghar police station limits.
