DRI seizes tiger cub carcass, body parts in MP

The operation was launched following a tip-off about a group killing a tiger cub and burying the carcass in a forested area near Sarekha Khurd village in Madhya Pradesh

MUMBAI: The Nagpur unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) conducted a joint operation with officials from the South Seoni forest division in Madhya Pradesh, which led to the seizure of nine nails, sixty-one bones, and a decomposed carcass of a tiger cub, DRI officials said on Saturday. Six persons attempting to sell the body parts in violation of wildlife protection laws were also arrested during the operation.

Tiger bones seized by the DRI

The operation was launched following a tip-off about a group killing a tiger cub and burying the carcass in a forested area near Sarekha Khurd village in Madhya Pradesh.

The six apprehended individuals and seized articles were handed over to the Barghat forest range in Seoni for further investigation and legal proceedings under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, DRI officials said.

Tigers are listed under schedule I of the Act, which strictly prohibits the trade, sale, purchase, or possession of their body parts including nails, bones, and skin.

Earlier, in January 2025, the DRI’s Mumbai unit had seized a leopard skin and arrested three persons from Akola district in Maharashtra; in May 2025, the unit had seized two leopard skins and arrested two persons from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, officials said.

“These operations underline the DRI’s continued commitment to dismantling wildlife trafficking networks through sustained, intelligence-based enforcement,” an official said, requesting anonymity.

The agency is determined to uphold and enforce legal provisions aimed at safeguarding India’s wildlife heritage, the officer added.