World Wildlife Day 2023: Navi Mumbai Police nab man for hunting leopard, seizes gun and skin of big cat

Officials of the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch with the seized leopard skin. Pic/Navi Mumbai Police

As the world is celebrating the 'World Wildlife Day', the Navi Mumbai Police on Friday said that it has seized the skin of a leopard from their jurisdiction and nabbed a man for allegedly trying to sell the skin and nails of the wild animal after hunting it. The police said that they have also seized a gun from which the wild animal was shot dead.

According to the police, the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch had initially received a tip-off regarding a suspect reaching Kharpada Toll Naka on the Mumbai-Goa Highway with the skin of the big cat on February 28. On receiving the information, a team led by Inspector Ravindra Patil began to verify the facts of the information and after working on the concrete evidence on the information deputed a team at the spot.

An official said, "the information was received by police constable Anil Patil who shared the information with his superiors in the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 2 in Panvel and accordingly a trap was laid to nab the suspect."

The police said, a police squad was formed to trap the suspect and the forest department officials were informed. The team of Navi Mumbai Crime Branch officials laid a trap on the Mumbai-Goa Highway and after some time, a suspicious man with a bag was spotted at the spot near Kharpada Bridge, he was moving towards the Kharpada Toll Naka.

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"Upon spotting him, the police team rushed to nab him. The team who had cornered him in a way that there was no chance of him escaping the trap," the official added.

The police, on checking the bag he was carrying, found the skin of the leopard was found. He was later booked by the police under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act and later placed under arrest, the police said.

The suspect has been identified as Jitendra Pawar alias Sanju, 31, a laborer and a permanent resident of Ratnagiri.

"After Pawar's arrest the police investigations also led to his aide identified as Sonu Waghmare, 32. The police have also recovered a gun which was allegedly used to hunt the leopard. Along with the skin at least seven nails of the leopard were also seized from the accused," an official said.

Further investigations in the case are being done to understand more facts of the case, the police said.