Youth shot dead while hunting wild boars in Dumbriguda

Visakhapatnam: A 22-year-old tribal youth was shot dead while he was hunting wild boars along with eight others in the forest under Dumbriguda police station limits in Vizag Agency on 15 October.

The police are searching for the members of the hunting team who had fled the area. The victim has been identified as Buridi Balaram of Gadabajalubu village of Dumbriguda Mandal.

The sub-inspector of Dumbriguda police station, G. Gopala Rao, said a nine-member hunting team, including the victim Balaram, went to the forest to hunt for wild boars on Wednesday evening. They had three guns. The members formed small groups and dispersed in different directions.

One of the hunters, Purna, heard a rustling sound and opened fire. Later, he found that the bullet had hit Balaram who died on the spot. All the group members fled the scene immediately, leaving the dead body behind.

The victim’s wife, Pratima, lodged a complaint on Thursday morning. The police brought Balaram’s body from the forest and sent it to a government hospital for postmortem. They did not find any guns near the area, only some empty shells.

The police have registered a case under various sections of the IPC and the Indian Arms Act. They are also investigating whether it was murder or a freak accident.