BHUBANESWAR: A day after a tiger skin was recovered from Keonjhar, Anandpur Wildlife Division officials on Saturday arrested three more members from the family of the accused. A team arrested the father and two brothers of accused Butu Mahakud who was held from Harichandanpur block on Thursday.
Officials said the arrests were made following interrogation of Mahakud who admitted to involvement of their family members in ‘retaliatory killing’ of the Royal Bengal Tiger. The Anandapur Wildlife Division has also sent the skin samples for DNA analysis and to ascertain the pedigree and landscape of the RBT.
While the skin, 7-feet in length, belonged to an eight-year-old big cat killed in Rebana reserve forest under Anandapur Wildlife Division, officials have not been able to ascertain its habitat and whether it was from Similipal Tiger Reserve or a dispersing tiger from Central India landscape.
Officials said it could only be known after DNA of the big cat is matched with pool of the Central DNA bank.The wildlife division has decided to bring all the accused on remand for further investigation, after they are produced before the court. A crime scene recreation will also be done.