Not only Dhanu, a native of Anantapur village that falls under Similipal buffer area, three others in his team—Chhotray Marandi of Itagarh, Budhhuray Hembram of Khuntabil and Laxman Marandi of Anantapur—also have surrendered before the forest officials and reformed themselves.

In March last, they had put down guns, bows, arrows and other weapons and joined the forest officials as protection assistants working to guard the wild animals they once hunted. With a hunting tally of at least two dozen elephants, scores of deer, sambar, wild boar, giant squirrel and Indian bisons, they now regret a lot.

Looks skinny, but a physically strong Dhanu was among a few wanted poachers whose axe and arrows used to flash on the animals at a lightning speed. A terror for wild animals and foresters for the last over two decades, this man was out of bounds. He even had connections with the inter-state gangs who run poaching rackets. Now all are forgone days for the hunters. They are helping the forest guards these days to monitor the health of the ecosystem which is a very challenging job. They said they were driven by the thought that one day their children would be able to get to know the wildlife that was once found in abundance in the reserve forest. “Something from within myself forced me to shun this path of poaching. Now I feel very sorry for being the reason of killing of many wild animals. Initially it started as part of our ceremonial hunting, I continued it as it fetched easy money. Now I am ashamed of my acts. I promise I will utilise my skills to protect the wild animals and the health of the forest,” regretted Dhanu, who is now getting a monthly salary of Rs 3,900 as protection assistant.

The wildlife activists and forest officials, however, had to toil hard to motivate them as they used to make good money from selling the meat, horns, fur and bones of different animals. They had become a matter of serious concern for the forest authorities as they used to regroup 800-1,000 local youths every year for the Akhand Sikar (ceremonial mass hunting) and go on a killing spree after terrorising the guards.

The STR authorities, however, adopted twin strategies to change their minds. While in one side they roped in Honorary Wildlife Wardens (HWWs) Vanoo Mitra Acharya and Sanjukta Basa to motivate them, in the other side they warned the poachers to book them under National Security Act, 1980 if they don’t shun the path of poaching.

Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (RCCF) and Field Director of STR, Anup Kumar Nayak, said he had decided to book Dhanu under NSA after his gang of nearly 1,200 tribals took 60 forest personnel, including an assistant conservator, hostage in Upper Barahakamuda range in the core area in May last year. “Later I thought if one chance could be taken to motivate them to bring them to mainstream. We held a discussion with Acharya who took the responsibility to wash their minds,” he said.

Taking it as a challenge, Acharya, who has constituted Similipal Special Force (SSF) with the help of local youths and ex-servicemen, engaged his group members to wean Dhanu’s team from their illegal profession. After a series of discussions and meeting, finally they succeeded in winning the confidence of the hardcore poachers and the latter agreed to surrender before the forest officials. “It is indeed a success story for us,” said an elated Acharya. The forest department also extended all support to them. Though the Dhanu team has been working as protection assistants since last two months, the forest officials are sounding a bit sceptical. With the help of this team, they could foil several attempts by the hunters during the last Akhand Sikar period, but so far they have not been able to nab any poacher or bust any gang with their inputs.

Nayak said being poachers, they know each and every terrain of STR. No doubt they have become a great help for us and we are using their skills during patrolling and monitoring of wild animals, but the real success is yet to be achieved, he quipped.

Now, the locals have started comparing Dhanu’s life-changing moments with the episode of Dashyu Ratnakar who transformed to Saint Balmiki. Only time will tell how much he has transformed.