Baripada: The Forest Department officials arrested nine persons in connection with the seizure of a Melanistic tiger skin in the Baripada forest division.
According to reports, a special task force from the forest department caught two individuals red-handed with a tiger skin in Kuliana area yesterday. The seized skin is believed to be from a 3-year-old tiger, killed about a month ago in the Udala range. The department conducted raids at various locations last night and arrested seven more individuals. However, the main accused, the primary hunter, is still at large.
Among the nine arrested, three are accomplice hunters and six are skin traders. They will be produced in court today after interrogation. The main hunter is still on the run, and multiple forest department teams are conducting raids at various locations. Further arrests are expected, said Baripada Forest Division Officer Gobind Chandra Biswal.
