Indian national held with deer skin, smuggled clothes

By Rabindra Upreti,Bardibas, Aug. 23: Police have seized deer skin along with a large quantity of smuggled readymade clothes from the rented house of an Indian national living in the market area of Gaushala-5, Mahottari.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by Inspector Ramesh Lama of Gaushala Area Police raided the rented residence of 36-year-old Manoj Raya, a native of Kolkata, West Bengal, India, at around 10:00 pm on Thursday night.

During the search, police confiscated dried deer skin (trophy) and readymade clothes worth Rs. 2,105,699, according to DSP and Police Information Officer Shailendra Bhatta.

The raid was extended to four warehouses rented by Rai, where police found 86 varieties of readymade garments for children, women, and men.

Eyewitnesses said that police transported the huge volume of confiscated clothes in their van eight times.

The recovery of the deer skin has alarmed police authorities. According to spokesperson Bhatt, the seized wildlife skin will be handed over to the concerned agency for investigation and testing. He clarified that although the skin appears to be that of a deer, confirmation will be made only after examination.

Bhatta said, “The Division Forest Office and other concerned agencies have been notified for further investigation regarding this wildlife trophy case.”

The District Police Office stated that Indian national Raya, along with the seized clothes, will be handed over to the customs office on Friday.