Four held with leopard skin worth Rs 3 lakh

PUNE: Four people were arrested in Swargate and their attempt to sell a leopard skin worth Rs 3 lakh foiled by city crime branch officials here on Monday.
Acting on a tip-off, a police team, led by inspector Ram Jadhav of the anti-dacoity cell of the Pune crime branch, made the arrests under Section 51 of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972. The accused have been identified as Sudesh Panchal (20), Dinkar Sitaram Gurav (22) both of Ratnagiri, Sandip Bhonbare (28) and Ratnu Shelar (48) both of Virar, Mumbai.
Speaking to TOI, Jadhav said one of his informers called him on Monday morning and told him that some persons were trying to sell a leopard skin in the Swargate area. "We laid a trap and nabbed the four men from near a restaurant in Swargate and recovered the skin from them."
Assistant inspector Yashwant Phulwade of the anti-dacoity cell said the police examined the skin with the help of an expert, M S Pradhan, former joint director of the Zoological Survey of India. "In his report, Pradhan confirmed that the skin is of a sub-adult leopard."
Pradhan told TOI that the leopard was not fully grown when it died. "It might have been killed in the last six to eight months."
During the interrogation, Panchal revealed that his cousin, who is the deputy sarpanch of a village near Ratnagiri had given him the skin. Phulwade said, "Panchal, who is a carpenter in Ratnagiri is under a lot of debt. His friends Gurav, a tour operator; Bhonbare, a labourer and Shelar, a restaurant owner were also in need of money. They decided to sell the skin and earn some quick cash."
The investigating team comprises police constables Santosh Jagtap, Sanjay Memane, Lokesh Raskar and Devaji Kovase.