Eighty two pieces of leopard bones were recovered by the forest department on information provided to them and three people, including two juveniles were arrested. After reportedly having confessed to having poached leopards, the trio was presented in the court of the chief judicial magistrate on the weekend from where from Tripalisain resident Sunder Singh was sent to judicial remand while the juveniles managed to secure bail. The three have been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act.
Earlier on January 26, a record-seizure of seven leopard pelts and bones was made and four people were arrested by the Kotdwar police and special operation group team. The four men were caught near lalpani along the Pauri-Kotdwar highway after which both the police and forest department have been investigating the case at their levels.
The Pauri district superintendent of police Rajeev Swaroop had deputed appointed SHO Narendra Gahlawat as investigating officer in this case. In the due course of investigation the police caught the three persons who then pointed out locations where they had hidden leopard bones.
Garhwal forest sub divisional officer Subodh Kala said that forest department team and police team are conducting separate investigations in the case.
On the information revealed, 42 leopard bone pieces were recovered from where they were hidden in the woods about one and a half kilometer from Tripalisain while 40 more leopard bone pieces were recovered in the forest about three kilometres from Bangali village.
The SDO further informed that under interrogation, Singh had admitted that he had killed two leopards by administering poison while the juveniles confessing to having fatally electrocuted one leopard. The investigation of this case is continuing.
Considering the recent cases of human-leopard conflict on the one hand and incidence of poaching and smuggling of wildlife contraband on the other hand, observers point out that these indicate the failure of the State authorities in mitigating the rising human-wildlife conflict which is being exploited by those in the illegal wildlife trade.
Considering the general principle that contraband seizures made by the authorities amount to about 10 per cent of the total contraband trade in wildlife, the State of wildlife security in Uttarakhand appears to have varied gaps which have given it the dubious distinction of being a hub in northern India for poaching and trade of leopard pelts, bones and related wildlife contraband.