'Pushpa 2 impact': Elephant ivory smugglers open fire at forest dept team in Odisha

A gang of ivory smugglers opened fire at a forest department team attempting to raid the area and apprehend the accused in the forests of the Rayagada district of Odisha on Sunday.

As per sources, the forest department officials had formed a special team to raid a patch of the forest near the Muniguda area based on a tip-off regarding the alleged smuggling of elephant tusks for ivory.

The officials subsequently located the smugglers near the Jarapa area adjoining the Rayagada forest range. Upon spotting the forest department vehicle, the gang opened fire.

The forest department team did not carry any firearms to the site and hence were forced to retreat after falling under heavy fire. Their vehicle carried several bullet holes while its windows and rear windshield were completely shattered.

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The forest department had earlier arrested five mafia members involved in the illegal sale of elephant tusks for ivory. Following this, a team of forest officials went to the villages of Malimunda and Jarapa in Muniguda for further investigation.

However, the accused smugglers escaped under the cover of fire whereas the authorities managed to return without any injury or fatality but empty-handed.

Till the last report came in, the forest department had not issued any statement regarding the incident.

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Notably, this incident mirrored scenes from Allu Arjun’s film ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ and its sequel, which is currently trending across several parts of India. The film featured sequences where red sandalwood smugglers boldly challenged the police and forest department, similar to the ivory scenario in Rayagada.