The Forest Department on Tuesday arrested six jewellers after recovering at least 86 suspected leopard claws, five leopard teeth, one claw of an unidentified animal, and 10 feathers of unknown birds from jewellery shops in Rohru in Shimla district, according to officials.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Rohru, N Ravisankar, said the department received a tip-off that several wildlife articles were stored at shops in Rohru and were about to be sold.
Following the input, a special operation named Clawing Back was launched by the forest department. Teams of deputy rangers, forest guards and ‘Van Mitras’ carried out simultaneous searches at six jewellery shops for nearly three hours.
During the operation, the teams recovered suspected leopard claws and teeth, along with one unknown animal claw and 10 bird feathers from the shops. All the seized items were taken into custody, the DFO said.
He added that the articles will be sent for detailed forensic examination in coordination with the Wildlife Institute of India and other forensic laboratories to identify the animals and the birds.
A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and further investigation is underway, officials said.
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