Bat-hunting racket busted in Athagarh, 11 from Bhubaneswar arrested

In a major breakthrough, the Khuntuni forest range officials have apprehended 11 people for hunting hundreds of bats on Monday. 

According to sources, the accused were hunting the mammals inside a defunct factory at Kapursingh under the Khuntuni forest range in Athagarh when some locals spotted them and immediately informed the Khuntuni Forest Range official. 

Acting promptly, the officials reached the spot and detained eleven individuals involved in the illegal act. A case was registered against them under wildlife hunting charges, and an investigation has been initiated by the Forest Department.

Racket Linked to Bhubaneswar Identified

Preliminary reports indicate that a racket was operating and involved in killing bats. The arrested individuals are residents of Salia Sahi in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Forest officials stated that the same group had previously hunted bats in nearby areas. In the latest incident, they had reportedly killed and collected over 800 bats.

Investigation into Wider Links Underway

The Forest Department is probing whether the accused had carried out similar hunting activities in other areas such as Cuttack and its surroundings. Officials described this as a new case where offenders from Bhubaneswar travelled to rural regions to hunt bats. 
Investigations are also underway to identify others linked to the racket and determine what the accused were doing with the killed bats, including whether they were selling or smuggling them to other locations.