3 persons arrested with 14 pangolin scales near Bhitarkanika

Kendrapada: Forest officials of Bhitarkanika National Park seized 14 pangolin scales from a house at Sandhapali village and arrested three wildlife smugglers, on Thursday. The three arrested persons have been identified as Sk. Barakatullah, Abhiram Mallick and Rajkishor Mallick of the village under Pattamundai police station.

They were arrested while negotiating a deal with a procurer, who was a forest officer in disguise. It is suspected that the scales were of pangolins killed in the nearby forest. A case has been registered against the trio under Section 51 of Wildlife Protection Act. “We suspect that a chain of smugglers are involved in this trade. We seized two bikes, three mobile phones and a sharp weapon from them,” said Varadaraj Gaonkar, divisional forest officer (DFO), Bhitarkanika National Park.


All the three accused were produced in court at Pattamundai on Thursday. The court rejected their bail applications, added the forest officer.

Pangolin is an endangered species and only scaly mammal on earth. It curls itself into a ball hoping that its scales would protect it. They survive on ants and other insects, thus controlling the insect population that makes it vital for the ecosystem, said Sudhanshu Parida, secretary of People for Animals, district unit.