Bhutan nationals held with tiger skin

TT, 17 October 2019, Siliguri: The special task force of the state forest department seized a tiger's skin, skull and bones from two residents of Bhutan at Hasimara in Alipurduar on Tuesday.

The duo, suspected couriers, had allegedly procured the skin and bones from poachers in Assam, forest officials said. The consignment was headed to Kathmandu to be handed over to another dealer, they added.

"In the evening, we spotted the men with a bag along with some women at the Hasimara crossing. As we intercepted them, the ladies fled. The men's bags were frisked. One bag had the skin of a fullgrown male royal Bengal tiger and the other had skull and bones which weighed around 11kg," said Sanjoy Dutta, range officer of the special task force. The seized tiger skin is around 14 feet long bearing two bullet injuries.

The seized royal Bengal tiger skin in Alipurduar.

Picture by Biplab Basak "We suspect that the tiger was killed somewhere in northeast. We have come to know that the duo had made a deal with a buyer in Kathmandu against Rs 32 lakhs," the forest official added. Those arrested have been identified as Yongba Nanong and Namgay Wangdi, both residents of Pemagatshel district in Bhutan. The duo were produced in a court and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days. "During preliminary investigation, we have come to know that Nanong is an exserviceman. He was earlier in the Royal Bhutan Army," Dutta added. Officials of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau are also assisting the forest department in the case.

Additional reporting by Our Correspondent in Siliguri.