Forest dept recovers tiger skin, arrests two persons

Kolkata: The state Forest department on Thursday recovered the skin of a Royal Bengal tiger and arrested two persons from a hotel located under Anandapur police station area near Kasba. The raid was conducted by the wildlife control wing of the department, on the basis of source information. The duo had put up at the hotel to strike up a deal for selling the skin.

"We have recovered the full skin of a Royal Bengal tiger from the duo. We are interrogating them to ascertain how they had procured the skin and to whom they were trying to dispose it," said Rajib Banerjee, state Forest minister.

A senior forest officer informed that one of the arrested persons is a resident of Kasba area, while another hails from North 24-Parganas.

Wildlife Conservationist Joydip Kundu said that it apparently appears to be an old skin. "The skin may have been in someone's collection for a reasonable amount of time and efforts were now being made to sell it off," he added.

A year ago on January 12, the state Forest department had caught a person red-handed and seized a leopard skin from his possession at Hatibagan area in North Kolkata The person had come with the skin at the residence of Kundu, who is also a member of the state Wildlife Board, seeking assistance from him in disposing the animal skin.