SAMBALPUR: Forest officials on Wednesday arrested one more person for allegedly poaching a leopard, the skin of which was recovered from Hiraloi village near Landakot reserve forest under Rairakhol division.
Divisional forest officer (DFO) of Rairakhol Arabinda Mohanty said so far, four persons have been arrested in this connection. On Tuesday, three persons were arrested for poaching the leopard.
Official sources said the manner in which the leopard was skinned suggests that the poachers are professional and involved in illegal wildlife trade since a long time. The single bullet injury on the leopard’s skin also suggests the same.
The DFO said, “We suspect more people are involved in the racket. The local assistant conservator of forests has been entrusted with the task of investigating the matter. Efforts are underway to nab all the people involved in the illegal trade.”
Sources said the leopard, aged around 10 years, was killed on Monday. Acting on a tip-off, a team of forest officials raided Hiraloi village the next day and arrested three poachers. The trio was found cooking the leopard meat after skinning the animal.
Apart from the leopard skin and meat, horns of an antelope, a country-made rifle, four axes and other sharps objects used in skinning animals were seized from the accused.