Sonepur: A day after the decomposed carcass of a leopard was found in Chandili reserve forest near Baghapali village under Ullunda Forest range in Subarnapur district, forest officials have intensified their investigation into it and detained two suspects, Wednesday. It was suspected that the leopard might have died after falling into a trap laid by poachers in the forest. The big cat is believed to have died four days ago. The poachers took away all the claws. Assistant conservator of forests Prafulla Kumar Dharua, Ullunda forest ranger Dilip Kumar Pradhan and Sonepur ranger Manoranjan Bagh were at the site Wednesday.
Reports said, some goat herders had first seen the carcass and informed the forest department. Subsequently, forest officials reached the spot and initiated a probe into the incident. It is suspected that some poachers killed it and took away its claws. The forest has allegedly turned into a poachers’ haven with live wires being used to kill wild animals at night. A few weeks ago, a resident of Baghapali had died after coming in contact with live wires laid in the forest.