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Haryana: Hansi man arrested with leopard skin; police probe possible Tamil Nadu link
Wildlife department estimates leopard was around 3.5 years old; accused claims his brother left the skin at his house before leaving
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A youth was arrested with a leopard skin allegedly worth around ₹1.5 crore during a joint raid by the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) and forest department teams in Hansi, the police said on Tuesday.
The accused has been identified as Sonu Bawaria, a resident of Petwar village in the Narnaund sub-division. The wildlife department has estimated that the leopard was approximately three-and-a-half years old.
Sub-inspector Pradeep Kumar said that said police received a tip-off from an informer about a leopard skin being kept at the accused’s house. The CIA team subsequently contacted the forest department, following which both teams conducted a joint raid at the premises.
During the search, the teams recovered the leopard skin from a gunny bag. It was seized and a case was registered against the accused at Narnaund police station under relevant provisions of wildlife protection laws.
During preliminary interrogation, Sonu allegedly told investigators that his brother left the leopard skin at his house before leaving. Police said his brother is reportedly in Tamil Nadu and are investigating whether the wildlife contraband was transported from there or whether the accused had links with an organised wildlife trafficking network.
On measurement, the recovered leopard skin was found to be 207 cm in length and 128 cm in width, with the tail measuring 80 cm. As per the prescribed procedure, a sample of the skin was separated and sealed, while the remaining skin was also taken into police possession for further action. A case has been registered against the accused, Sonu Kumar, at Narnaund police station under Sections 9, 39, 50, 51(A), 52(A) and 55 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Investigators are also trying to identify other people associated with the suspected syndicate and establish the source and intended destination of the leopard skin.
The police said that the accused would be produced before a court and taken on police remand for further interrogation. The investigation is underway to ascertain the circumstances in which the leopard was killed and the possible involvement of other people in the illegal wildlife trade.
