Bhubaneswar: The Special Task Force (STF) of the Crime Branch arrested Monday two persons for possessing a leopard skin at Bonai Chowk near Barkote in Deogarh district. The team also recovered the skin.
The accused have been identified as Somanath Patra and Rajib Lochan Patra of Salohi village under Barkote police limits. Both are known as poachers.
Acting on a tip-off about a deal of a leopard skin from a reliable source, the team conducted a raid at a place near Bonai Chowk. Besides apprehending the accused, the STF personnel also seized the hide, one MC and other incriminating materials from their possession.
The accused persons could not produce any valid document in support of possessing the leopard skin, for which they were arrested under sections 379/411/120 (B) of IPC and section 51 of Wild Life Protection Act, 1972. They were produced Tuesday in the Court of SDJM, Deogarh and were remanded to judicial custody after their bail pleas were rejected.
PNN