Leopard skins seized, three arrested in J&K

JAMMU: Three persons including a priest were arrested and leopard pelts seized from their possession in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

Acting on a tip off, police raided a house in Thard area and recovered two leopard skins last night, they said, adding a priest Filail Singh and Kuldeep Singh were also arrested.

Following their interrogation, Filial Singh's brother Angrez was arrested from Manthal area with two more pelts, police said.

A police team has been sent to Ramban to arrest the gang's alleged kingpin identified as Mangal Singh.

The leopards were killed by poachers in upper reaches of Doda and Ramban districts and their skins were being sent to Mumbia via Jammu by the gang, the arrested persons told the police.

The three have been booked under the Wildlife Act, they said.