Boudh, Jan 11: In yet another crackdown on wildlife trade, Forest officials seized a leopard skin from Kantamal forest area in Odisha’s Boudh district and arrested two persons in this connection.
The arrestees have been identified as Mukesh Manhira of Balangir and Dibyashankar Bagarty of Boudh.
Acting on a tip-off regarding trafficking of leopard skin, a team of forest officials led by Balangir DFO Nitish Kumar conducted a raid at Kotagaon under Tushura police limits in Balangir district and arrested Mukesh.
During interrogation, the investigating team came to know that the leopard skin is at Phatamunda village under Kantamal police limits in Boudh district. Following this, a joint team of Balangir Forest officials and Kantamal Range officials raided a specific location in the village and seized the leopard skin. The officials also arrested Dibyashankar on this charge.
The two arrestees have been forwarded to a local court, informed the Balangir DFO.
