On October 14, B. Balaram, a 24-year-old tribal, was allegedly shot dead by Poorna Rao, one of his hunting companion, in the Baliaguda forest area in Dumbriguda mandal in Visakhapatnam Agency.
Around 20 people from the same village had gone on a hunting expedition and Balaram was reportedly shot dead accidentally by Poorna, who mistook Balaram’s concealed movement behind a bush for an animal. He died on the spot and the police arrested five of the hunting party members including Poorna and seized five country-made firearms. Well, this is not a stray incident. A few months ago one such incident was reported in Parvathipuram Agency in Vizianagaram district.
Hunting is considered to be a ritual for tribal people, especially during festivals, and they primarily hunt wild rabbits and wild boars commonly found in this part of the eastern ghats hills. They are generally armed with bow, arrows, spears and guns.
Many families living in the interior mandals such as G.K. Veedhi, Dumbriguda, G. Madugula, Munchingput, Koyyuru and Pedabayalu posses at least one firearm. The police term the weapons as ‘natu tupaki’ or country-made guns, but not many know that some of them have vintage value.
‘A matter of pride’
Experts say some of the guns owned by tribals are from the colonial period and are muzzle-loading, smooth-bore flintlock muskets, which could date back to the 18th and 19th century.
“For a tribal, possessing a musket is a matter of pride as they claim that the weapon has been passed down to him from his ancestors. The Agency areas from Rampa in East Godavari to Malkangiri in Odisha, spreading in Visakhapatnam district, have witnessed several violent rebellions against the British in different phases, by the likes Tamanna Dora (from 1839 to 1880) and Alluri Sitaramaraju (from 1922 to 1924). And some of the arms date back to those eras, which were looted from the British garrisons,” says prof. P.D. Satyapal of the Department of Anthropology in Andhra University,
Over the years, some have been maintained well, repaired and even remodelled by local craftsman and are in use till date, said Inspector General of Police Ch. Srikanth, who has spent considerable time in anti-Maoist operation in Visakha Agency.
Many tribals have used the old flintlock technology to manufacture new ones with the help of local blacksmiths and carpenters. If the arms are collected and exhibited, they can be quite an antique collection, as many still have the British markings engraved on brass plates pinned to the wooden butts of the muskets, he said.
The muskets are muzzle-load weapons, where gunpowder is poured into the barrel, a few pellets are dropped and stuffed with a rod and fired. Over the years, the tribals have learnt the art to collect the ingredients for making gunpowder.
‘No Munger connection’
Meanwhile, some senior police officers ruled out the possibility that the arms have the Munger connection. Moreover, the tribals who rarely go out of their native mandals, cannot reach Munger to buy a weapon. They neither have the access nor the money to buy the arms from Munger, said a police officer. Moreover, Maoists will not allow them to procure modern armsas they could be detrimental to their movement.
However, Visakha Range DIG L.K.V. Ranga Rao, says the police will collect all such arms to avoid recurrence of such incidentsand the matter is being probed.
