NUAPADA/BERHAMPUR: In a crackdown on wildlife traffickers, forest officials of Nuapada and Balangir have arrested as many as nine persons and seized three leopard hides from their possession in the last two days.
The forest officials in Nuapada on Thursday arrested seven persons and seized two leopard hides from their possession under the Khariar forest range. The accused are Chitram Putel from Balangir besides Jugeswar Putel, Jagdish Majhi, Sushil Kumar Patel, Niran Majhi, Lingraj Majhi and Chumbaklal Putel from Nuapada.
Sources said, based on information about the illegal trade of leopard skin on January 8, a special team was formed that raided a lodge in Khariar in which three accused were detained and one leopard hide was seized. Subsequently, during further investigation, the four other accused were detained on Wednesday.
ACF Territorial, Khariar, Md Mustafa Saleha said, “Investigation is underway to ascertain from where the accused sourced the leopard hide and for how long they were involved in the trade.”
Similarly, forest officials in Balangir with the help of their Boudh counterpart seized a leopard skin from Kantamal forest on Wednesday. Two persons have been arrested in this connection. Sources said, that on a tip-off about leopard skin trafficking, a team of forest officials led by Balangir DFO Nitish Kumar raided Kotagaon under Tushura police limits in Balangir district and arrested one Mukesh Manhira of the village.
As he revealed the name of another person in Boudh during interrogation, the forest team reached Boudh and seized a leopard skin hidden in a paddy straw heap at a threshing ground in Phatamunda village under Kantamal police limits of Boudh district.