Nuapada: A surprising case has come to light from Nuapada district of Odisha. Here a leopard has been hunted and then cooked and eaten. Two people have also been arrested in this case and the leopard's head has been recovered.
What is the whole matter?
Two people have been arrested for violating the Wildlife Protection Act in Nuapada district. A leopard was trapped in a trap set to hunt wild pigs in the forest near Deodhara village. It is alleged that Pustam Chinda (58) and Hrishikesh Chinda (40) killed the leopard, skinned it and cooked the meat and ate it.
According to the Forest Department, this incident occurred on November 16. Acting on a tip-off, forest officials raided the hideouts of the accused, in which leopard skin, head and cooked meat were recovered. However, his two companions managed to escape from the spot.
Md Mustafa Saleha, assistant conservator of forests, Khariar Forest Division, said the investigation was ongoing and the arrested accused would be produced in court. Special teams are busy searching for the absconding accused.
The Forest Department has appealed to the local communities to cooperate in wildlife conservation and immediately report such incidents to the authorities. Hunting of endangered species like leopard not only destroys the identity of the species but also affects the environmental balance. Taking this incident seriously, the officials have assured of strict action against the criminals. (Shubham Kumar reports from Odisha)
Image Credit: India_Tv.