Two poachers held with leopard skins

PATHANKOT: Two persons were arrested on Wednesday and two leopard skins recovered from their possession which they were allegedly carrying from neighbouring Himachal Pradesh to sell in Pathankot in Punjab.

The two leopard skins are estimated to be worth Rs 1.50 crore in the international market, police said.

On a tip off, police at a checkpost near Mirthal arrested the two poachers. They were identified as Gali Ram and his son Anil Kumar, residents of Kansari village in Nurpur Tehsil of Himachal Pradesh.

After preliminary interrogation, they said they shepherds and killed the two leopards because they had been attacking their sheep and posed a threat to the human lives in the area also, according to police.

They killed the leopard by throwing meat pieces laced with poison in the forest and both the animals.

Police said the teeth, claws and skeletons of the leopards were yet to be recovered.

Police said the accused have been booked under Wildlife Act.