Leopard skin seized in Navi Mumbai; two held

The Navi Mumbai police seized a leopard skin and arrested two men involved in killing the animal and attempting to sell the skin, an official said on Friday.

Based on a tip-off, the police apprehended one of the accused near Kharpada toll naka on Mumbai-Goa Highway on February 28, said senior inspector Ravindra Patil of crime unit II of Panvel police said. The police seized a leopard skin from his possession, which he was planning to sell, he said.

During interrogation, the accused revealed that he had procured the skin from another accused who had killed the animal and skinned it, the official said.

The other accused was subsequently nabbed and nails of the animal were also recovered, he said.

A case under relevant provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act has been registered against the accused who are from Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.