India: Two persons were arrested and a bone of a rhinoceros was recovered from their possession in Jalpaiguri district on Monday.

Based on a tip-off, the Special Task Force of the Forest department led by Sanjay Dutta, range officer, Belakoba Range, conducted a raid at a location in Fatapukur on National Highway 31 C at around 2 pm on Monday.

"We found 3 persons in a huddle beside the road. A deal seemed to be going on. As we tried to surround them, one person managed to slip away. We detained the other two," stated Dutta. The forest officials found a black school bag in their possession. The bag contained a piece of Rhino bone weighing more than 800g. One of the arrested also possessed two Adhaar cards in the name of Prasanta Sarkar of Fulbari, Ghokshadanga, Cooch Behar. The other card bore the name of Rasidul Islam. The other person arrested is Bharat Roy (24 years) of the same locality as Sarkar. During interrogation, they admitted that they have been involved in wildlife trafficking and smuggling of other contraband items.

(Source: The Millennium Post)