Nuapada: Forest department officials have seized a leopard skin, hyena jaw, sambar horn, a country made gun, fire crackers, bows and arrows and wooden planks during a raid at Dabri village in Khariar block of Nuapada district.
The Forest department has arrested five persons in this connection.
The accused persons have been identified as Tikchan Majhi (26), Jairam Majhi (44), Gorekh Lal (65), Purna Majhi (23), and Sachindra Majhi (19). Two others are absconding.
“On 15th we got a tip-off and on 16th morning we searched few houses at Dabri village. We recovered a leopard skin, hyena jaw, sambar horn, country made gun, fire crackers and few arrows. We have also seized wooden planks from their houses,” informed Khariar Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Aziz Khan addressing a presser on Friday.
Khan said that during interrogation the accused persons have confessed to have killed and skinned a leopard after it was caught in a snare two years ago atop a hill near Dabri village.
“They confessed to have kept the leopard skin for sale. We have arrested five persons of Dabri village and forwarded them to court,” the Khariar DFO added.
