Nine held for killing and trading leopard skin in Giddalur

Giddalur: The Giddaluru Divisional Forest Officer G Satheesh announced that they arrested nine people on Tuesday in connection with the hunting and trying to trade leopard skin and nails and seized them.

Satheesh said that based on the instructions received from higher officials, they have intercepted the communication of an AR police constable from Ongole Donampudi Srinivasa Rao and Kunchala Sreenu, a driver from Pallapalli village in Chimakurthy mandal and understood that they are trying to trade the skin and nails of a leopard online.

Based on the information, the DFO said that they arrested the two accused near Rangaswamy Temple in Racharla mandal and seized a Bolero vehicle along with the skin and three nails. He said that the remaining nails are on the skin of the leopard.

After the interrogation of the two accused, Satheesh said that they arrested retired soldier Shaikh Subhani of Racharla, Modi Rangaswamy, MR Swamy, Enduri Anand of Jayarampuram, Thota Venumadhav and Pasupuleti Gopalakrishna of Giddalur, G Bhupal Reddy of Veligandla also for the involvement in the case under Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

He announced that the seized skin is expected to be of a one and half year aged leopard and they accused might have killed it more than a year ago. He said that the skin and nails are being sent to CCMB lab for identification of the exact age and the time of the killing. He said that the skin has a market value of Rs 50 lakh to 70 lakh in the domestic market and would cost more in the international market.