Bhawanipatna: A joint team of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and Odisha and Chhattisgarh forest departments have seized eight leopard and one tiger hides in Kalahandi district and arrested seven persons in the last 24 hours.
The seizure by the forest officials on Friday included a tiger and two leopard skins from M Rampur, two leopard hides from Junagarh and four more from Narla within Kalahandi South and North divisions.
Among the seven arrested persons, Bhuliar Bag, Kodanda Goud and Uanshu Jani were apprehended in M Rampur and Junagarh area on Friday, four others Manoj Behera of M Rampur, Narottom Bhoi of Narla, Ranga Charan Bhoi of Bafala village and Kartika Rana of Amatha village were arrested from Narla area on Saturday.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Wildlife Shashi Paul had told the TNIE on Friday that the tiger skin appears to be suspicious as the size of the skin and nails on it are relatively small.
“We are examining it and if required will send the sample to the Centre for Wildlife Health at OUAT or forensic lab of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) at Dehradun for confirmation,” he added.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Kalahandi (North) Nitish Kumar said that the investigation is underway to ascertain the involvement of other persons in the racket.
Also Read: Inter-State Smuggling Racket Busted, Hides Of 4 Big Cats Seized From Odisha’s Kalahandi
