Forest officers seize leopard skin in West Bengal

Jalpaiguri, July 21 (ANI): Forest officers in West Bengal seized an 11-feet leopard skin. The forest guards recovered the skin from Belakoba range under Jalpaiguri district of the state. Six men belonging to Assam were arrested in the case. The men, with the smuggled wildlife article had started from Meghalaya, then passed through Siliguri city and were intercepted at Dasdarga area in Jalpaiguri. Upon examination, the forest officers also found bullet injuries on leopard skin. The skin is reportedly worth rupees 1.2 million. Smuggling of animal skins is prevalent in areas of West Bengal. Leopard skin is mostly smuggled to China and Asian countries as it is in huge demand for showcasing and for medical purposes.