BARIPADA: Forest officials arrested an engineering student and his friend for their involvement in illegal wildlife trade and seized a leopard hide from their possession on Monday.
A joint team of Baripada forest range officials, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) of Madhya Pradesh and the Special Task Force (STF) arrested Vikas Vinay Singh (27) of Uthaninuagoan and Vikas Bentakar (26) of Khanua village from a hotel in Baripada town. Singh is a student of a private engineering college in Balasore.
Divisional forest officer (DFO) of Baripada Santosh Joshi said Singh had posted about sale of a leopard hide on social media recently. After the MP WCCB officials came across the post, they joined the STF and the Forest department to form a team to nab the seller.
Posing as a buyer, a forest official contacted Singh on his cellphone. The buyer fixed the hide’s price and the location for the deal. Accordingly, the accused duo checked into a hotel in Baripada town with the hide. The buyer reached the hotel and asked the duo to show the hide. When Singh and his friend opened the bag containing the leopard hide, the officials caught them red-handed. The duo was arrested and the hide seized.
Forest officials bought Singh and Bentakar to Baripada range office for interrogation. The DFO said investigation is on to ascertain whether the accused got the hide from a supplier or poached a leopard in any forest. A case under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 has been registered and the duo will be produced in Baripada SDJM court on Tuesday.