Bhawanipatna, Odisha: A wildlife crime racket was busted in Odisha’s Kalahandi district on Saturday, and six people were arrested, according to an official.
Wildlife Crime Control Bureau personnel seized skins of a tiger and a leopard from M Rampur area and two leopard hides from Junagarh in the district in a joint operation by forest officials of Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
In Odisha, Shashi Paul, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) said the tiger skin appears suspicious because of its size and small nails.
‘We’re examining it. We will send the sample to the Centre for Wildlife Health at Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology and to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) at Dehradun for confirmation if needed,’ he said.
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A forest official on condition of anonymity said the Kalahandi district has become a ‘hotspot of wildlife crime’.
The leopard skins and claws were discovered in the South and North Forest Divisions, Kalahandi, during raids conducted two days ago, he said.
‘The seizures confirmed the wildlife crime racket here,’ the official said.
According to him, the forest officials seized five tiger skins from Gariabundh in Chhattisgarh over the last six months, and the suspects in the smuggling of animal parts all came from Kalahandi. Nitish Kumar, the Divisional Forest Officer of North Kalahandi, said that the six have been interrogated in order to trace the interstate poaching and trading links.
Siba Prasad Rath, President of ACF Kalahandi, said, ‘Raipur in Chhattisgarh is a market for wildlife trophies. However, there is less chance of poaching in Kalahandi.’
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