Odisha Leopard Death: Two Forest Staff Suspended

Representative Picture

Athagarh: Two Forest Department employees were suspended on Friday in connection with the death of a leopard at a forest in Cuttack district. The animal’s carcass was recovered from Haridapasi forest in Athagarh range.

Sources said forester Sucharita Samantaray and forest guard Chandan Behera were suspended for dereliction of duty.

Notably, the 10-year-old leopard’s carcass was first spotted by a woodcutter on September 16. Later, Forest Department officials led by Athagarh DFO Sasmita Lenka had seized the carcass for postmortem.

After postmortem, the carcass disposed of as per the standard operating procedure of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

Further investigation into the matter is on.