Intensifying its probe into the illegal leopard poaching, the Odisha Forest Department arrested two more persons from Gajapati district, an officer said on Tuesday.
On Sunday, forest officials seized the skin of the leopard from Gundurubadi in Jagannath Prasad range in Ganjam district’s Ghumusar North division.
With this, a total of nine persons, including a retired police officer, have been arrested in the case so far, the officer added.
A special team of forest officials, based on the statement of the accused persons, raided the house of Khetriya Mallick (45) in Gochhaguda. Khetriya was one of the seven accused arrested on Sunday.
On Monday, the officials arrested two others identified as Sukhadev Mallick (25) and Lulu Mallick (29) – during a search operation at Gochhaguda village.
The officers also seized four leopard teeth stored in a plastic bottle, arrows, single-shot firearms, various animal traps and a blood-stained sickle from the accused.
The official said that the seized items, especially the teeth and hide, are suspected to be linked to the poached leopard.
All the organs of the animal will be sent for DNA profiling at the Center for Wildlife, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar, to determine whether they belonged to the same animal or not, the forest officials stated.
Preliminary findings reveal the leopard was killed by shooting approximately a month ago, said Himansu Sekhar Mohanty, DFO Ghumusar North division adding that further investigation is ongoing, with more arrests possible and all seized evidence being closely scrutinized.
