Arms issued to forest guards traceless
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Meisnam Karnajit
Imphal, June 03 2013:
More than 80 rifles which were once issued to State Forest Guards have remained untraceable after they were deposited at different police stations more than 30 years ago.
The forest guards were armed with single bore and double barrel rifles to protect the Reserved Forest Areas and counter illegal activities of poaching/hunting or smuggling of wildlife plants and animals.
The State Forest Department has now lost all records pertaining to the arms issued to the forest guards, and so the officials are unable to figure out the exact number of the weapons lost.
An aged man who retired as a forest guard told Hueiyen Lanpao that the rifles issued to forest guards were collected and deposited at the police stations during 1980s when the insurgency movement picked up its momentum in the State.
At that time, the underground outfits began to snatch licensed 12-bore rifles from the public and in some incidents the UGs took away arms from the forest guards.
Since that time, the arms have not been issued to the forest guards, he recalled.
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Attempts to collect reports about the missing arms are in vain as the officials have no proper knowledge about the arms.
Some of them heard about the arms issued to forest guards only in stories.
The files and other documents pertaining to the weapons have been misplaced due to frequent shifting of the office.
Now, most of the employees who had knowledge about the arms issued to forest guards are retired and so the incumbent officials could not find out the locations where the arms were deposited.
However, an official said that the details can be dug out from the past employees if someone gives a written application to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest regarding the matter.
Due to sheer negligence of the Forest Department, the weapons which were deposited 30 years ago could no longer be used today even if they were found at the PSs.