Poacher held with tiger skins

LUCKNOW - A poacher was arrested from Uttar Pradesh’s Chandauli district with skins of tigers and a leopard, police said Tuesday.

“Rakesh Kumar, 28, a native of Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi district, was nabbed late Monday from the Sayedraza town following a joint operation conducted by police and forest officials,” police inspector R.K. Ram told reporters in Chandauli.

“We arrested Kumar while he was on his way to Bihar, where he was supposed to hand over the skins to his clients. Skins of three tigers and one leopard were seized from him,” he added.

Preliminary investigations reveal Rakesh was involved in the illegal wildlife trade for the last six years,” he said.