Odisha forest officials arrest poacher with leopard, deer skulls

Forest officials arrested a poacher after skulls of a leopard and barking deer were seized from his possession in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district. On a tip-off, a team of forest officials on Sunday raided the house of Lanka Badra in Makabadi village and found a leopard skull, Samrat Gowda, deputy director of Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) said on Monday.

Badra was arrested and interrogated. During 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. Further, the accused led to the discovery of weapons used in the crime from his house at Makabadi, the officer said.

During the second search, dry meat, three snares, skull of a barking deer with antler, an axe, bill hook, poison and two bags were seized from Badra's house.

A case has been registered and further investigation is going on, the deputy director stated.