Wednesday, Apr 24, 2024 | Last Update : 07:05 AM IST
Leopard skin worth Rs 20 lakh seized in Thane
The incident occurred on Wednesday night when the four accused were ferrying the leopard skin in their four-wheeler from Roha area of Raigad district.
Mumbai: Forest department has seized leopard skin worth Rs 20 lakh and arrested four accused for smuggling of leopard skin in Sanjay Gandhi National Park’s (SGNP) Yeoor range.
The incident occurred on Wednesday night when the four accused were ferrying the leopard skin in their four-wheeler from Roha area of Raigad district.
The officials deployed at Yeoor forest area got the tip-off about miscreants possessing the leopard skin, making their way to Thane.
“We got the information that four smugglers are on their way here to sell the illegally possessed leopard skin. We planned accordingly and as soon as their car reached on Yeoor gate in Thane, we arrested them,” said an official from Thane Forest Department.
A case has been registered sections of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The accused Bashir Mohan Pathan, Javid Dawood Pathan, Kiran Kisan Raut and Madhukar Ramchandra Kank, who are residents of Tala- Roha, have been arrested in the matter.
“During the investigation, the accused have confessed to their crime of planning to sell the skin at Rs 20 lakh to a buyer in Thane,” said the official.
