Mumbai: Leopard skin wrapped in sheet found in Aarey Milk Colony

Leopard skin found near Ganesh Mandir lake in Aarey Milk Colony. Pic/Ranjeet Jadhav

In an incident that points towards poaching, the skin of a leopard packed in a bedsheet was found near a lake inside Aarey Milk Colony on Sunday. Senior Police Inspector Jagdish Deshmukh of Aarey Milk Colony Police station said, "On Saturday, we received a call informing us about a leopard skin packed in a cloth dumped near Ganesh Mandir lake within our jurisdiction. Our team has taken the same into custody and has informed the forest department to further investigate."

A gardener working at Ganesh Mandir lake garden, while sweeping the area, spotted something packed in a bedsheet thrown near the lake. On closer inspection, he realised that it was something resembling a leopard skin. He immediately informed the caretaker of the garden, who then informed the Aarey police station.

The police station reached the spot along with a team of volunteers helping the Maharashtra forest department monitor leopard activity at Aarey Milk Colony and volunteers from NGO WWA. Following the instructions from Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) Santosh Saste and Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Sonal Valvi, the Mumbai Range of the Thane Forest Department (Territorial) was also informed, and they reached the spot to investigate.

A police official, requesting anonymity, said, "Along with the skin, there were around seven to eight leopard nails found in the bedsheet in which the skin was dumped." The area where the skin was found is adjacent to a good forest patch, and locals from the area, who did not wish to be named, said that there is frequent leopard activity in the area. They emphasized that the forest department and police officials should investigate this matter.

"The area has frequent leopard activity, and the forest department and police officials should check CCTV cameras in and around the premises where the skin was recovered to see if any suspected activity of any person was recorded. The authorities should also collect samples from the skin, and the same should be sent for forensic analysis," said a local.

Pawan Sharma, Honorary Wildlife Warden of Thane, said, "The FD needs to check for the ID of the animal from the existing available database of leopards of SGNP and Aarey as part of the detailed investigation. Territorial wing, wildlife wing, and anti-poaching units need to be put on high alert. This looks like a case of hunting and poaching or illegal wildlife trade, as per the prima facie evaluation of available evidence."