‘Tiger skin’ seized from traditional healer

Coimbatore: Forest officials on Sunday arrested a 52-year-old man for having in possession a ‘tiger skin’, two sand boas and a deer’s antler.Police identified the accused as C Chinnathambiraj of Kovilmedu, who runs a traditional medicine store near Edayarpalayam on Thadagam Road.Coimbatore forest range officer R Arun Kumar inspected Chinnathambiraj’s store and residence based on a tip-off. Officials found a tiger skin, two live sand boas, one dead sand boa, and a piece of an antler of a spotted deer, during the search. The dead sand boa was found in a jar with medicinal plants. Chinnathambiraj said he had planned to keep the sand boa in the jar along with medicinal plants for 48 days to prepare a medicine for cancer, but the sand boa had died. Chinnathambiraj told officials that he had captured the sand boas near Thadagam.Officials said the tiger skin seemed to be fake and its genuineness has to be verified through a laboratory examination. “We are going to send the seized skin for a DNA analysis,” an official said.