Baliguda: Forest and police officials seized two leopard skins and arrested a man during a joint raid at Baliguda bus stand in Kandhamal district Friday. Uttam Majhi of Ratang village under Phiringia police station was arrested on charges of illegal possession of the skins, Divisional Forest Officer Ghanashyam Mohanty said.
A case (43/26) has been registered, and the investigation is continuing, he added. Preliminary findings suggest Majhi had procured the skins from poachers with the intention of selling them, Mohanty said. A separate team has been formed to figure out others involved in the wildlife crime.
The investigators look into aspects like which poachers supplied the skins, and where they were meant to be smuggled. The raid followed a tip-off to Baliguda forest division about the illegal possession and sale of wildlife parts obtained through poaching.
Forest personnel, led by Assistant Conservator of Forests Arun Kumar Sahu, along with range officers and staff from Kalinga Nuagaon, Kotagarh, Tumudibandha and Brahmanigaon ranges, carried out the operation with police at the Baliguda bus stand.
Officials said Majhi came under suspicion during the raid and was searched, leading to the recovery of the two skins.
He had reportedly been waiting at the bus stand to smuggle them elsewhere in the state for sale. Mohanty said action would be taken against anyone else found to be involved in the case.