Chhattisgarh: Two govt staffers among four held for attempting to hunt wild animals; rifle, bullets seized

Four persons, including two government employees, were arrested for allegedly trying to hunt wild animals and a gun, sharp-edged weapons and bullets were recovered from them in Chhattisgarh's Balodabazar-Bhatapara district, police said on Sunday.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team intercepted them in Piparchhedi protected forest area under Kasdol police station limits on Friday when they were moving about in a car, Balodabazar-Bhatapara Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Deepak Kumar Jha said.

''Those held were identified as Shaeed Naqvi, who is posted as a supervisor in the mining department, Mohammad Wasim Khan (33) who is a forest guard, PWD civil contractor Anand Shrivastava (51) and Nawaz Khan (51). All hail from Raipur district,'' he said.

''When the vehicle was searched, a telescope-mounted .22 rifle, 24 live rounds, five sharp-edged weapons and an axe were recovered. Naqvi possessed the license of the gun but he did not have authority to carry it in a reserve forest area,'' the SSP added.

Prima facie, it seems they were trying to hunt wild animals and a case under Arms Act and Wildlife Protection Act has been registered against them, Jha said.