The Special Task Force (STF) of the crime branch wing of Odisha Police has arrested two persons and seized a leopard skin from his possession during a raid near Narla Railway Station in Kalahandi district.
“During search, a leopard Skin along with other incriminating materials was recovered from their possession. The accused persons could not produce any authority in support of possession of such leopard skin, for which they were forwarded to the Court under sections 379/411/120(B) IPC r/w. Sec.51 of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The skin will be sent to Director Wildlife Institute of India, Derhadun for biological examination. Further investigation is going on,” said the STF in a statement.
Contrary to the rising graph nationally, the State has reported a 25 per cent drop in the population of leopard, an endangered and protected wild animal, in a span of four years, an official report said.
According to the latest leopard census done by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), as many as 192 leopards are missing from the forest. The state was home to 760 leopards in 2018, which was 568 in 2022, a drop of 25.26 per cent.