MP forest wing shotguns for BSF? Why an important weapon against poachers, the timber mafia, is on loan

The Madhya Pradesh forest department has proposed to the state’s home department to loan 600 of the over 2,000 pump-action rifles to the Border Security Force (BSF) deployed in the northeast of the country.

The BSF had requested MP’s shotguns for use in the restive areas of the Northeast. The forest department had purchased the weapons to tackle poachers and the timber mafia, but they have been lying unused for the past two years.

“We have submitted a proposal to the state government that the weapons can be loaned as it is for national service,” said Aseem Shrivastava, chief conservator of forests.

The US-made Mossberg 12 gauge Model 88 Maverick guns were acquired in the early 2000s as a frontline weapon for the forest personnel amid increasing attacks on them by the timber and mining mafia. However, the use of these weapons has been a controversial topic.

The Maverick is considered a solid tactical defense rifle, but became a burden on Forest Department personnel for several reasons – mainly because the government did not provide clear instructions to designate the Forest Department as a weapons-bearing force. This led to cases being registered with serious charges such as murder and attempted murder whenever forest personnel used these weapons in the course of their work. In the absence of legal protection, forest personnel refused to use or carry these weapons.

For example, in August 2022, a forest team was charged with murder after a tribal youth was shot dead in Vidisha district. The department claimed its personnel had acted in self-defense, but police insisted on registering a murder case. In protest, forest department employees laid down their shotguns in offices across the state.

“Our association did not ask anyone to surrender the weapons, but that is exactly what most of the range officers did. Now, very few officers use these weapons,” said Ram Dayal Ahirwar, president of Madhya Pradesh State Forest Range Officers Association.

With no clarity on whether protection will be extended to forest department personnel using pump-action shotguns, sources say patrolling in areas prone to mining and logging has significantly reduced.

On September 29, forest personnel were attacked by illegal sand miners in Bada Malehra area of ​​Chhattarpur district. The team had received a tip-off that illegal sand mining was taking place in the Bhartoli forests. The team reached and seized two tractor trolleys loaded with sand. At that time, a group of people, believed to include locals, attacked the team and fled with the tractor carts. The forest department vehicle was left damaged.

With their main arsenal on loan to the BSF, it is even more unlikely that the forest personnel will be willing to return to armed patrols. Besides hunting rifles, the forest department’s inventory also includes .315 rifles, double-barreled shotguns and IOF .32 revolvers.

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