A joint team of Police, Wildlife SOS and forest officials apprehended a man in Ballabhgarh of Haryana for possessing leopard skin. The accused has been identified as Ram Das who is now under police custody as the matter is being investigated further, said Wildlife SOS in a statement.
The raid was conducted on Wednesday night on the basis of information gathered by the wildlife conservation organisation.
The joint team raided the premises of the accused and seized the leopard skin from under his bed.
“During interrogation, Ram Das confessed to having acquired the leopard skin through a middle-man. He has been booked under the relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972,” further says the statement.
Authorities are investigating the matter to track down the middle-man. The confiscated leopard skin measures 73 inches in length and 36 inches across, and is now evidence in this matter.
“The leopard skin appears to be around 4 to 5 years old. We have filed an FIR against the accused and hope to find further linkages to this case on investigation,” Vinod Kumar, Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), said.
“Poaching or possession of the protected wildlife species is a punishable offence. If convicted, the person could be imprisoned for up to seven years,” said Kartick Satyanarayan, co- founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS.