Leopard skin seized in Odisha, two detained

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Crime Branch seized leopard skin from the possession of two persons in Sambalpur district on Wednesday.

Akei Sahu Kanchanpur and Bishal Saha of Kalibara areas have been detained by the sleuths and a case under Sections 379, 411, 120-B of the IPC and Section 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act have been registered in this connection.

SK Upadhaya, ADG and head of Crime Branch said that acting on a tip-off from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, a team under the leadership of inspector N. K. Mahunt of CID, CB was sent to western Odisha last night.

The team conducted raid inside Kanchanpur jungle under Kisinda P.S. on Wednesday afternoon while the culprits were carrying the leopard skin in an airbag for disposal.

Upadhyaya informed that leopard is a rare species and hence comes under Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act. 1972.

Crime Branch officers are further interrogating to ascertain the source of procurement of sized leopard skin and proposed destination for disposal.

Crime Branch as the nodal wing of state police has a specialized cell to deal with detection of illegal trade/poaching of wildlife. Besides, it has an advisory role in furnishing suggestions for effective enforcement and persuasion.

Crime Branch has been collecting information about all wildlife cases of state police and coordinating other State Crime Record Bureaus (SCRB) on interstate ramifications.

The intelligence inputs received from Wild Life Crime Control Bureau are being shared with district SsP from time to time.