Narendra Singh Rawat and Dammar Singh Bora were arrested in a joint operation by Champawat district police and STF while trying to cross over to Nepal with the skin and fingernails of the big cat last night, an STF official from Banbasa said.
Their accomplice Manoj Thapa who is suspected to be the man behind a wildlife smuggling racket in the area escaped taking advantage of the darkness, he said.
An over eight ft long leopard skin and four fingernails of the big cat have been recovered from the duo who were going to sell them in Nepal where they get a good price for it, he said.