Two tiger skins seized in Odisha, one arrested

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Gobindapalli/Malkangiri, Sep 6:

A special team of the Forest department has arrested one person and seized two tiger skins from him in Odisha’s Malkangiri district.

The department suspects the arrested person identified as Sundar Duruwa of Bhejaguda to be part of an inter-state racket in tiger skin trade.

According to reports, two days back Ranger of Maithili Forest Range Bijay Kumar Nayak was tipped off by a source that Sundar Duruwa of Bhejaguda was in possession tiger skins and was trying to sell it in neighbouring Chhattisgarh or elsewhere in Odisha.

Without losing a moment Nayak informed DFO Harshad Parag Javel following which a team was formed.

The team first traced out Duruwa’s mobile phone number and posing as buyers of tiger skin contacted him.

In order to ascertain whether the hide was real or fake, they asked him to come to a desolate place.

The officials posing as decoy customers examined the hides and bargained over the price.

Finally, the deal was struck and Duruwa agreed to sell each skin for Rs 35,000. The officials promised to visit his home with the money the next day.

As per earlier laid out plan Forest department officials along with para staff arrested Duruwa from Saunliguda and seized two tiger skins from him.

While one of the seized tiger skin measures 140 cm in length, the other has a length of 125 cm.