17 Arrested For Killing Leopard And Selling Its Skin

Hyderabad: Seventeen persons including four poachers were arrested for killing a leopard and trying to sell its skin. The Rachakonda police said that the animal was killed in Nirmal district and the accused were nabbed with the help of officials of the Forest Department.

“A gang of six members were nabbed earlier as they were transporting its skin to the city in a vehicle and upon interrogation 11 more accused including the four poachers were nabbed on Tuesday,” said Mahesh M Bhagwat, Rachakonda Commissioner of Police.

The main accused Kanaka Anil, along with Srinivas, Jyothiram and Jaggaram, all residents of Islampur village of Kadem mandal in Nirmal district were habituated to poaching of wild boar and deer in the forest areas of Uddampur and Birsaipet.

Explaining their modus operandi, the official said, "As per their plan, they procured wire and sticks and other incriminating material and went to the forest of Birsaipet and laid a wire fencing around a water pond where wild animals come for drinking water and connected it to the electrical wire by putting hooks. In the process, one leopard got electrocuted and they skinned the animal and later they informed the other accused for selling its skin.”

The official said over the past three months the accused looked out for potential customer to sell the skin for Rs20 lakh to Rs25 lakh. The accused have been booked under relevant sections of IPC and the Wildlife Protection Act.