Bargarh: A team of Special Task Force (STF) seized a live pangolin and detained a person during a joint raid with forest officials at Bijadihi Chhaka under Padmapur police limits in Odisha’s Bargarh district on Saturday evening.
The pangolin, weighing 12 kg, was seized from Mahadev Mutkia, a resident of Gandapalli under Paikamal police limits. Other incriminating materials were also seized from his possession, sources said.
The STF later handed him over to forest officials of Padmapur. The Bargarh DFO said that an investigation into the matter is underway.
Notably, the Indian pangolin (Maniscrassicaudata) is a schedule-I protected animal under Wild Life Protection act, 1972.
