Berhampur Police Arrested Two Poacher ; Leopard Skins, Two Live Bombs and Weapons Seized
Manoj Kanta Dash, Odishabarta
Forest Department in Deep Sleep; Suspected Nexus(?)
Berhampur,(07/06/26): Berhampur Police have seized two leopard skins, two live handmade bombs, and a weapon during a raid under the jurisdiction of Jarada Police Station in Odisha’s Ganjam district.
Two persons have been arrested under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Arms Act, and Explosive Substances Act. Police are also investigating the possibility of an interstate wildlife trafficking network.
The accused have been identified as Kesab Jamadar (34) of Gajapati district and Bira Jamadar (45) of Ganjam district. They were arrested during a raid conducted in the Upper Burutal area under Jarada Police Station limits.
Berhampur Superintendent of Police Saravana Vivek M said that the police team conducted the raid based on specific intelligence regarding the alleged trafficking of leopard skins.
When the police team reached the spot, two suspects were seen fleeing towards the nearby forested hill area. Police personnel immediately gave chase. During the pursuit, the accused allegedly pushed and used force against the police team in an attempt to escape. One of the accused reportedly brandished a sword and threatened the officers.
Despite resistance, both accused were apprehended after a strenuous chase.
During the personal search, police recovered two live handmade bombs from Kesab Jamadar and a sword (Kati) from Bira Jamadar.
A subsequent search led to the recovery of two gunny bags containing two full-sized leopard skins.
The accused failed to produce any licence, permit, or legal documentation authorising possession of the leopard skins, weapon, or explosive materials.
Police have registered a case under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Wildlife Protection Act, Arms Act, and Explosive Substances Act.
Investigators are now working to ascertain the source of the leopard skins and determine whether the accused were linked to a larger interstate wildlife trafficking syndicate.
Both accused have been arrested and forwarded to the court.
Notably, on May 16,2026 police arrested three persons from the same area for allegedly possessing a leopard skin. In that operation, one full-sized leopard skin was seized, raising concerns about continued wildlife trafficking activities in the region and possible gaps in enforcement.
This may be underlined on 19th Jauary,2024 the first major failure of the forest department was defamed While the forest department is supposed to take the poachers to task, it is the police, who efficiently is nabbing those culprits. Take the case of four poachers, who were apprehended by Berhampur police from Tamana Reserve Forest with huge cache of arms & ammunitions & two deer horns.
The seized articles included two country made muzzle loading single barrel guns, 125 live cartridges (65 MM), 200 empty cartridges, Lead splinter balls- 10 Kg, Lead splinter balls- 250 g (small), Gun powder- 200 g, lead bar used in making the splinter balls one head torch light used for hunting, equipment used for assembling the cartridges apart from two deer horns with skulls.
This became headline news in vernacular, national TV l media.
