Balasore, March 25: Forest department personnel today seized skins of a Royal Bengal tiger and a leopard under Karanjia wildlife division in Mayurbhanj district.

The accused persons were arrested from a local market in Chirupada and taken to the Karanjia division office. The forest officials seized the hides by conducting raids at Chirupada village under Thakurmunda forest range.

The accused persons were Jagar Murmu, 45, of Sarupal village, Arjun Besra, 51, from Rairangpur, Dasarathi Kisku, 30, of Chirupada, and Surendra Kisku, 32.

Jagar had the hides and the others were assisting him to sell the skins in the market. A motorcycle was seized from their possession.

Sources said that they were planning to sell the hides at Rs 1 lakh each. However, local residents informed the forest staff members about the incident.

Smuggling of animal skins is being frequently reported from Mayurbhanj, which boasts of a large forest cover with rich flora and fauna and houses the Similipal Wildlife Sanctuary.

"The tiger skin was 7.5-ft long and 2.9-ft wide. The leopard hide was 7.5-ft long and 2.5-ft wide," said Similipal Tiger Reserve field director Harish Kumar Bist.

The seized skins belonged to adult animals. A forest official said efforts were on to ascertain whether the arrested persons had poached the animals or procured the skins from any smuggling racket.

On March 4, officials of the Baripada wildlife division had seized a leopard skin and arrested two persons.

Honorary wildlife warden Bhanoomitra Acharya said: "We are concerned about such poaching and smuggling incidents. Though, the poaching activity has been reduced to some extent, it has not stopped completely despite patrolling and enforcement."