ALMORA: Continuing the crackdown on poaching business in the state, police arrested a poacher from Munakot area of Pithoragarh district. Three leopard skins worth Rs 6.5 lakh in the international market each and some bones were seized from procession of the accused.
Dyhan Singh, inspector, Pithoragarh police station said, "The accused has not disclosed the identity of the person to whom he was going to sell the skins. We are making all efforts to extract more information from the accused about his clients."
The accused has been identified as Kashi Ram Niwasi and is a resident of Nepal. He crossed the border and was allegedly going to sell the skins to a middleman in Pithoragarh, who was expected to sell it again to clients in New Delhi and other states. The accused has confessed that he killed the animals and has been booked under relevant sections of Wildlife Protection Act.
Police received a tip off on Thursday night about a man travelling to Pithoragarh with animal skins. A team of cops, special operation group and forest officials rushed to Munakot and laid a trap to nab the accused.
In January too, seven leopard skins and bones were seized in the Lalpur area of Pauri district from four smugglers who were transporting the skins to Kotdwar.
