Smuggler Arrested In Odisha For Illegal Possession of Leopard Skin

Bhubaneswar: A man has been apprehended for possessing a leopard skin and trying to deliver it to a customer near Ranipathar village in Boudh district, police said on Tuesday. 

According to police, the accused was attempting to sell the skin by the side of the Charichhak-Phulbani main road. 

"After a successful investigation, a chargesheet was filed against the accused person under an appropriate section of the Wild Life (Protection) Act,1972. Trial of the accused person was also conducted in which the court sentenced the accused person to undergo three years of Rigorous Imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10,000 only for the commission of offense.The accused was attempting to sell the skin by the side of Charichhak-Phulbani main road when he was apprehended,” police said. 

The officials further said that the seized leopard skin was sent to the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun for biological chemical examination and the opinion was received affirmatively.

The STF informed that as many as 11 witnesses were examined and nine documents were submitted during the trial by the prosecution.

"This is the ninth case of STF where the accused persons were convicted under the Wildlife Protection Act," according to an official statement released by authorities.

Earlier, in February this year, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change released a report on the Status of Leopards in India 2022. According to the report, India's leopard population rose by 8% from 12,852 in 2018 to 13,874 in 2022. About 65% of the leopard population is present outside protected areas in the Shivalik landscape. Only about a third of the leopards are within protected areas.