Man nabbed for snake venom trade in Sambalpur

A man was arrested in Odisha's Sambalpur district on Tuesday for illegal trade of snake venom, an official said.

Acting on intelligence inputs, a Forest department team raided the house of Ramachandra Rana at Karanjula village in the district and seized six snakes, including three cobras, and four chameleons, assistant conservator of forest, Manu Ashok Bhat said in a statement.

Rana was apprehended by the team and a case has been lodged under the Wildlife Protection Act and an investigation is on, Bhat said.

Rana runs a YouTube channel, which displays photos and videos of wildlife, including snakes, from various areas without permission from the Forest Department.

The channel violates Information Technology Act 2000 and has been reported to Youtube for deletion and appropriate action to be taken at their end, the statement added.