The police on Thursday seized three country-made rifles that were hidden in the fields at Bontinenivaripalle village in the Piler rural police circle and took a person into custody.
Acting on a tip-off, Circle-Inspector S. Murali Krishna, along with the police of Bhakarapeta and Chinnagottigallu stations, conducted flash raids in the forest-fringe villages in the Piler circle. The accused has been identified as Changalrayalu, 55, the owner of the field.
In two other separate incidents, the Piler rural police unearthed illicit liquor dumps and the material required for brewing the contraband in two forest-fringe villages in Devarakonda and Chittejarla panchayats of Chinnagottigallu mandal. Two people– Cheekati Hari (30) and M. Siddareddy (65) – were taken into custody.
Inspector Murali Krishna said it had come to the notice of the police that some persons were pilfering power from the poles in the fields. They were allegedly using uninsulated cables and placing them at low level, making animals vulnerable to electrocution. He said such violations would be booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which attracts imprisonment up to ten years.