"Forest officials in Odisha have arrested a poacher who was found in possession of leopard and deer skulls."
On Sunday, forest officials raided Lanka Badra's house in Makabadi village based on a tip-off and found a leopard skull, said Samrat Gowda, deputy director of Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) on Monday.
Arpit Pattnaik
Forest officials in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district arrested a poacher after seizing the skulls of a leopard and a barking deer from his possession. Acting on a tip-off, a team of forest officials conducted a raid on Sunday at the house of Lanka Badra in Makabadi village and found a leopard skull, as stated by Samrat Gowda, deputy director of Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) on Monday.
Badra was arrested and interrogated. During the interrogation, Badra revealed the detailed procedure he followed for poaching wild animals and recreated the crime scene inside the forest, said Gowda.
The investigating officer seized a few bones suspected to be of some wild animals from the crime scene. Additionally, the accused led to the discovery of weapons used in the crime from his house in Makabadi, the officer said.
During the second search, the following items were seized from Badra's house: dry meat, three snares, the skull of a barking deer with antlers, an axe, a bill hook, poison, and two bags. A case has been registered, and further investigation is ongoing, as stated by the deputy director.
