Bengaluru: Trio arrested while trying to sell leopard's skin

Bengaluru:The Kodigehalli police have arrested three people for poisoning a leopard, after it killed their cow and then tried to sell its skin to a swami to ‘wash off their sins’.

The accused have been identified as Suresh, 30, Papanna, 27 and Basavaraj, 48, all residents of Devarahatti village in Kudlagi taluk in Ballari.

The police said the accused, Suresh and Basavaraj are cousins, while Papanna is their friend and neighbour.

A senior officer said that after they received credible information, DCP North East Kala Krishnaswamy formed a special team was formed, headed by the Kodigehalli police inspector Chethan Kumar. They laid a trap by posing themselves as buyers and caught the three accused red-handed in Devinagar bus stop in Kodigehalli police station limits.

The police said that last month, when Suresh had taken Basavaraj’s cow for grazing a leopard attacked and killed the cow during Suresh’s absence.

Basavaraj’s father found the dead cow and chided him and Suresh for negligence.

The duo then decided to kill the leopard and Suresh came up with a plan. They injected poison to the cow carcass and left it in the same place. The leopard later came and consumed the poisoned meat.

The next morning the accused found the leopard dead. They took the help of Papanna to take the carcass on top of a hill and peeled off the skin and later dried it.

The three then decided to sell the leopard skin to a swami to wash their sins.

A senior officer said that the three accused had approached a dealer to look for a swami in the city who would buy the leopard skin for good money.

The Kodigehalli police arrested the three and seized the leopard skin from them.

How It unfolded

• Last month Suresh took Basavaraj’s cow for grazing and it was killed by a leopard
• The duo then decided to kill the leopard and Suresh hatched a plan
• They injected poison into the cow carcass and left it at the same place. The leopard consumed the poisoned meat and died
• The duo sought the help of Papanna and took the carcass on top of a hill and peeled off its skin
• They later dried it and got arrested while they were trying to find buyers