In a major haul, the Crime Branch sleuths here recovered two elephant ivory and four tiger skins worth Rs9 lakh smuggled from Odisha while the accused were looking for an opportunity to sell them here on Tuesday.
Acting on a tip off, the Crime Branch sleuths with help of Chakradharnagar police arrested Veerkishor Acharya (65), resident of Sundergarh, Odisha and three others. They were carrying two elephant ivories and four tiger skins in a SUV.
Police said that during interrogation, Acharya said that he was an Ayurvedic practitioner and also performed witchcraft.
He claimed that he had obtained the ivory and skins from one Sahu Babu of Sundergarh (Odisha) to prepare 'bhasma' (ash) for his clients. Since he had fallen ill, he was not able to prepare the 'bhasma' (ash) and thus decided to sell the material in Raigarh.
The cost of two elephant ivory is estimated to be Rs5 lakh while that of four tiger skins is Rs4 lakh, police said.
Chakradharnagar police has registered a case under Section 379 of IPC, Sections 50, 51, 52, 9 and 44 of Wildlife Act against Veerkishor Acharya, his wife Jyotsana, Dayanidhi Sanvayin (40), resident of Sundergarh (Odisha) and Mukund Kumura (35), resident of Sundergarh (Odisha).