Huge haul of body parts of wild animals in Assam, 2 men detained

Heads and skins of two clouded leopards, a bear head and skin, a wild goat head with antlers, four otter skins, a hornbill beak and bones of different animals were seized.

Police in Assam’s Dhemaji district seized 43 heads of deer with antlers besides other animal body parts from two persons from Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday .

The animal body parts that were seized by wildlife officials in Assam from two men in Dhemaji district. (HT photo)

The haul, believed to be one of the biggest in years, included heads and skins of two clouded leopards, a bear head and skin, a wild goat head with antlers, four otter skins, a hornbill beak and bones of different animals weighing 800 grams.

Prashant Dhanda, divisional forest officer of Dhemaji, said police seized the illegal consignment stashed inside a Maruti car in Simen Chapori town.

The car was being driven from Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang district to state capital Itanagar.

Pasighat, about 250km east of Itanagar, is connected by road via Assam.

The two men detained with the animal body parts. (HT Photo)

The two men detained with the animal body parts were identified as Tabang Paro, 47, from Kaying village, and Taber Siram, 38, from Komsing village -- both in Siang district.

“Police handed over the two men to us after booking them under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act. We have informed senior forest officials of Arunachal Pradesh about the seizure and asked them to conduct a thorough investigation into the illicit trade,” Dhanda said.

Police have taken custody of the two Arunachal men for three days. One of them, Siram, claimed he had taken a lift in the car after missing an Arunachal Pradesh state transport bus to Itanagar.