A 48-year-old man was arrested in Kurla (West) Tuesday night for allegedly attempting to sell a leopard skin. He was carrying the skin worth Rs 1.5 lakh in a haversack, police said.
The accused, booked under Wildlife (Protection) Act, has allegedly confessed to acquiring the skin from a relative in Pune. Forest officials suspect the leopard to be from the forest in Sahyadri Hills.
Police said Bhagwan Sanas was seen loitering suspiciously around GSK Lodge on LBS Marg at 9 pm Tuesday. When he did not answer questions regarding his presence confidently, patrolling police demanded to check his haversack and found the skin.
Sanas was immediately arrested and taken to Kurla police station. An examination at Sanjay Gandhi National Park confirmed the 89-centimetre-long skin belonged to a leopard.
Sanas is a contract labourer with Larsen and Toubro and lives in Kurla. He told police he acquired the skin a few days ago at his native Karanji village in Pune district.
"It appears the leopard was skinned after it was killed. I do not think it was killed in Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Sanas said the leopard is from the Sahyadri Hills near his village. We have charged him with killing an endangered species," said DCP (zone V) Dhananjay Kulkarni.
Sanas has been booked under sections 9 (prohibition of hunting), 39 (confiscation) and 51 (penalties imposed by the forest department) of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and remanded in police custody till February 23.
"We arrested him after a tip-off. He has not yet disclosed who he was trying to sell the skin to," Kulkarni said.
The arrest comes two days after four youth were held by the crime branch trying to sell a leopard skin worth Rs 4 lakh. Two of the youths are sons of forest officials and stay in quarters inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/man-arrested-trying-to-sell-leopard-skin/1077288/0
The accused, booked under Wildlife (Protection) Act, has allegedly confessed to acquiring the skin from a relative in Pune. Forest officials suspect the leopard to be from the forest in Sahyadri Hills.
Police said Bhagwan Sanas was seen loitering suspiciously around GSK Lodge on LBS Marg at 9 pm Tuesday. When he did not answer questions regarding his presence confidently, patrolling police demanded to check his haversack and found the skin.
Sanas was immediately arrested and taken to Kurla police station. An examination at Sanjay Gandhi National Park confirmed the 89-centimetre-long skin belonged to a leopard.
Sanas is a contract labourer with Larsen and Toubro and lives in Kurla. He told police he acquired the skin a few days ago at his native Karanji village in Pune district.
"It appears the leopard was skinned after it was killed. I do not think it was killed in Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Sanas said the leopard is from the Sahyadri Hills near his village. We have charged him with killing an endangered species," said DCP (zone V) Dhananjay Kulkarni.
Sanas has been booked under sections 9 (prohibition of hunting), 39 (confiscation) and 51 (penalties imposed by the forest department) of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and remanded in police custody till February 23.
"We arrested him after a tip-off. He has not yet disclosed who he was trying to sell the skin to," Kulkarni said.
The arrest comes two days after four youth were held by the crime branch trying to sell a leopard skin worth Rs 4 lakh. Two of the youths are sons of forest officials and stay in quarters inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/man-arrested-trying-to-sell-leopard-skin/1077288/0
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