Smuggler arrested with leopard skin by foresters of Darjeeling Wildlife Division
Telegraph | 6 April 2026
Foresters of the Darjeeling Wildlife Division, acting on a tip-off about wildlife contraband in the Siliguri area, arrested a man with a leopard skin from Matigara on Saturday.
A source said the accused was planning to smuggle the skin to Nepal, from where it would be taken to China. The officers have not disclosed his name for the sake of the probe.
A team led by Deepak Rasaily, the range officer of Sukna, were waiting at Matigara More along AH10.
“Around 10.45pm, the team intercepted a man and a leopard skin was seized from him,” a forest department source said.
Foresters said the skin belonged to an adult leopard around 1.9m long and one metre in width. It is suspected that the animal was killed several months ago, as the skin appeared dried and processed.
“The accused, around 30 years old, was arrested in 2023 in connection with wildlife trafficking,” a source said.
He was produced before the additional chief judicial magistrate’s court in Kurseong on Sunday, where his bail was rejected. He will be produced in court on Monday and the forest department will seek custody for further investigation.
Leopard caged
Foresters of the Ghoshpukur range caged a female leopard from Faujijote on Sunday. Sambrata Sadhu, range officer, said residents had reported that a person was attacked and cattle and poultry were going missing. The animal was later released into the Bamanpokhri forest range.