Leopard skin seized in Odisha, 2 held

Acting on a tip-off, a team of the Special Task Force personnel with the help of Betanati forest officials raided an area near SCB Junior College, Ragdha on Wednesday and apprehended the two with the leopard skin, an officer said.

Two persons were arrested in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district after skin of two leopards was seized from their possession, police said on Thursday. Acting on a tip-off, a team of the Special Task Force personnel with the help of Betanati forest officials raided an area near SCB Junior College, Ragdha on Wednesday and apprehended the two with the leopard skin, an officer said. ''The two persons were arrested on the charge of trading of wild animals' body parts and handed over to Baripada forest officials for legal action,'' he said.

The seized leopard skin will be sent to Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun in Uttarakhand for chemical examination, the officer said. Further investigation is underway, he added.