Arms recovered near rhino sanctuary in Assam

Arms and ammunition have been recovered from the vicinity of Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary at Morigaon district of Assam, a police officer said.

Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of police officers and Forest Protection Force personnel launched an operation in and around the rhino habitat Sunday and recovered two rifles, one DBBL gun and several rounds of ammunition, he said.

While a 3.3 rifle and 10 bullets, along with horns of wild deer, were recovered from the houses of two "dreaded" poachers at Chidaguri village in the district, another rifle and one DBBL gun were retrieved from Nekerahabi area near the sanctuary, the officer said.

None of the poachers were, however, arrested as they fled the area during the operation.

The Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, 30 km east of Guwahati, has the highest concentration of one-horned rhino population in the world.