BHUBANESWAR: Police have arrested a BTech graduate and two others from Jayadev Vihar locality here after they were allegedly found in possession of a leopard hide.
Acting on a tip-off, officers of the Special Crime Unit (SCU) conducted a raid near Jayadev Vihar on Sunday evening and apprehended the three accused Rohit Mohapatra (26), Manjit Sabat (21) and Sambhu Bisoi (23).
Addressing mediapersons, police commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said Mohapatra was the mastermind of the group and the trio had planned to sell the leopard hide to a person for Rs 30 lakh. He had promised Sabat, a BTech graduate, and Bisoi to provide commission of Rs 2.5 lakh each from the sale.
Mohapatra’s father is a government official working in New Delhi. “Preliminary investigation revealed the leopard was likely poached outside Odisha. Its hide was smuggled into the state via Rourkela,” Singh said.
During interrogation, Mohapatra reportedly revealed before the police that he had procured the leopard hide from wildlife criminals in Karnataka. He was even planning to purchase another leopard hide.
“Further investigation is underway to ascertain the forward and backward linkages of the accused,” the police commissioner said, further warning that stringent action will be initiated against those engaged in illegal wildlife trade.