In yet another successful drive within a fortnight, forest personnel of the Athagarh Forest Division arrested a poacher, Ichhananda Jani (30) of Patrabhaga village under Sagar GP of Narsinghpur block, on Monday morning and seized an adult leopard’s skin from his possession.
Athagarh DFO Sasmita Lenka said a patrolling team comprising APR and Division mobile party nabbed Ichhananda at Chhanchunia in the Badamba-Narsinghpur border jungle when he was carrying the leopard skin in a sack bag. When the forest sleuths searched his bag, they found the skin pierced with a bullet mark. After seizing it, the patrolling party arrested the accused, sent him with the skin to the DFO office.
Badamba Ranger Govinda Ratha told this paper that after registering case number 68 of 2018 in his office, he has started investigation of the matter. When Ichhananda reached the Division Office, the DFO interrogated him and he confessed that he had shot the leopard at least a year ago from the Narsinghpur jungle and kept the skin in a tanning condition. He was assisted by two other poachers with whom he had a share. The kingpin of these poachers is in Nayagarh whom they sold it at Rs five lakh.
More investigation and interrogation would be held on Tuesday when the whole truth can be known, said DFO Lenka.
It is to be noted that under the direction of the DFO, another poacher, Matia Swain, had been arrested on November 15 from the Chandragiri Reserve Forest under the Narsinghpur East Range from whose possession two horns of a spotted deer and a country made gun were seized.