Three arrested with leopard skin in Odisha

BARGARH: The special task force (STF) of Crime Branch on Wednesday arrested three persons and seized a leopard skin, nails and teeth from them. The accused Satyaban Sahu, Sauki Thetua and Maita Bhue, all from Khajuria village within Bhatli police limits of Bargarh district, were arrested during a raid conducted by the STF at Bhatli Chowk. 

As they could not produce any documents for possessing the skin and nails, they were arrested under sections 379 and 411 of IPC and section 51 of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The seized leopard skin would be sent to Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun for chemical examination. 

A member of the STF said the accused had come to Bhatli Chowk to sell the leopard skin. Besides the skin, as many as 11 nails and four teeth were seized from the accused. While the teeth are of no value, the market price of the skin is estimated at `5 lakh and the nails around `2 lakh. 

Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF), Bargarh Forest Divison, RR Joshi said, the leopard must have been around three years old. The length of the hide seized is 77 inches including its tail of 32 inches. Further details will be known after examination.

In October 2018, officials of Hirakud Wildlife Division had seized the decomposed remnants of a big cat. Five persons involved in the incident were arrested and a pug besides four whiskers was seized from them.