Eight leopard skins seized in Himachal Pradesh

September 22nd, 2009 SHIMLA - The central government has sanctioned projects worth Rs.243.43 crore that would help strengthen the rural road network in Himachal Pradesh, an official statement said Tuesday. "In order to strengthen the rural road network in the state, the central government has approved Rs.243.43 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana," Himachal Pradesh Public Works Minister Thakur Gulab Singh said in the statement.

August 13th, 2009 JALPAIGURI - Wildlife officials rescued a male leopard from a tea garden in Jalpaiguri of West Bengal. Locals from in and around the tea garden crowded the cage to have a glimpse of the wounded animal that had unleashed fear in the area.

July 5th, 2009 DOARS - Forest officials trapped a leopard that strayed into a tea estate in Doars in West Bengal. Forest officials said the animal might have come out in search of food.

July 1st, 2009 BALLIA - Angry villagers on Tuesday killed a leopard, which had been creating havoc for quite some time in Rasra area of Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh. "Some people were sitting when suddenly the leopard attacked.

June 19th, 2009 DOARS - Forest officials trapped and tranquilized a leopard in West Bengal on Thursday as their rising population is creating a menace in the region. The 7-year-old leopard was trapped from a tea garden in the Doars region of the state.

May 7th, 2009 RAIPUR - People in Fafadih Market, one of the busiest areas of this Chhattisgarh capital, were shocked Thursday when a leopard strolled into the area. The forest officials were able to tranquilize and trap the animal only after an eight-hour effort.

April 6th, 2009 DINDIGUL - Skins of a tiger and a leopard have been seized from three people by forest officials here. 'The skins were seized from three wildlife traders in a joint operation carried out by the Tamil Nadu forest department and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) Sunday,' Wildlife Trust of India, an NGO, said in a statement Monday.

March 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Two leopard skins were allegedly seized Wednesday from a person in Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand. The accused in Vasant Vihar area of Dehradun was arrested, Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), an NGO, said in a statement.

March 3rd, 2009 LUCKNOW - A leopard that attacked and injured four people has triggered panic in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district, an official said Tuesday. The leopard strayed into Jagtapur village, adjoining the Katarniyaghat forest reserve, and has mauled four people since Monday morning, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) R.K.

February 15th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Three people have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district for smuggling skins of wild animals. They are part of a racket operating out of Nepal, police alleged Monday.

January 26th, 2009 PATNA - A leopard was killed by villagers in Bihar Tuesday, a police officer said. The leopard was first stoned by the villagers and later beaten to death with bamboo sticks and iron rods.

January 19th, 2009 SHIMLA - A family in a Himachal Pradesh village was at its wits end when it came face to face with a leopard that strayed into their house late night. The big cat barged into the house of Prem Singh of Saranda village in Mandi district while chasing a dog.

January 12th, 2009 RAIPUR - Deer and leopard skins worth Rs.2 million were seized from two Chhattisgarh tribesman Tuesday, a police official said. Crime branch official Pradeep Sori said the police on a tip-off raided a village in Dhamtari district and arrested the two tribesman along with the contraband animal skins.

January 8th, 2009 BHOPAL - As many as 43 people were sentenced in Madhya Pradesh's Katni forest division for poaching and smuggling of animal parts, official said Friday. Minister of State for Forests (independent charge) Rajendra Shukla said in an official statement that of these 43 people, 11 were sentenced to three-year imprisonment, 18 for two years and remaining 14 for one year.

January 2nd, 2009 BHOPAL - Villagers in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh killed a leopard, which attacked and injured at least six people including a woman in the past few days, officials said Saturday. 'The incident occurred Friday in Tarned village, six km from Dhar district headquarters, where the villagers attacked the wild cat with sticks and other weapons after it attacked and injured two persons critically,' said Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Raghvendra Shrivastava.