Bhubaneswar: Acting on a tip-off, Forest Department officials arrested two wildlife smugglers and seized leopard skin from their possession in the Kantamal forest area of Odisha’s Boudh district.
A team led by Bolangir DFO Nitish Kumar raided Kotagaon village under Tushura police limits in Bolangir district and arrested one Mukesh Manhira. During interrogation, Mukesh revealed that a leopard hide was hidden in a heap of paddy straw at Phatamunda village under Kantamal police limits in Boudh.
Later, the Forest Department officials arrested another villager identified as Dibyashankar Bagarty in connection with the crime.
Two accused were forwarded to a local court, said Nitish Kumar.
