Two men arrested for leopard poaching in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district

Chamarajanagar (Karnataka), Nov 20 (PTI) Two men were arrested for allegedly shooting dead a leopard, and the police recovered the remains of the big cat.

Two country-made pistols were also seized from the suspects -- Shantaraju and Arjun -- both residents of Doddainduvadi village, police said on Monday.

The arrests were made on Saturday morning by a team of police personnel from Kollegal rural police station.

Acting on a tip off, they waylaid them on a motorcycle near Chikkalluru. On checking, they were found two country-made pistols in their possession, a senior police officer said.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to have killed a leopard four-five days ago and revealed the involvement of a third accomplice who has been identified as Nataraj, he said.

'They disclosed that the three persons killed the leopard in Kaggalipura forest area of Kaveripura and while they were removing its skin, they heard sound of someone approaching towards them. Fearing being discovered, they fled the spot leaving behind the leopard's carcass,' he added.

The abandoned carcass of the big cat was later recovered by the police from the Kaggalipura forest area based on information provided by the two accused, the officer said.

A case has been registered against them under sections of the Arms Act and Wildlife Protection Act, he said.

'We have arrested the two men and seized the two country-made pistols recovered from them. Efforts are on to nab the third suspect who was involved with them in the alleged act,' he added. PTI AMP RS ANE