Odisha: 4 poachers arrested in Similipal National Park with leopard skin

Four persons were arrested in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district on Sunday for allegedly poaching wildlife inside the Similipal National Park and a leopard skin was seized from them, forest officials said.

The four persons were arrested near Tongabilla village, said Kapil Das, deputy director of the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR).

The leopard was killed two years ago inside the Similipal National Park, he said. The seized leopard skin was 2 feet 8 inches long and 1 foot 6 inches wide, he added.

The STR officials posing as traders contacted the poachers on the pretext of purchasing leopard skin, Das said. The arrested persons were identified as Ganeswara Singh, Subhash Sahu, Khirodh Mohanta, and Ranjit Nayak, he said.