Haldwani, April 20 -- A joint team of the forest department and police arrested a wildlife smuggler with a leopard hide and bones in the Ritha Sahib area of Champawat, officials said on Sunday. According to police, the arrest was made following a tip-off about a smuggler attempting to transport a leopard hide to Lohaghat. Champawat circle officer Vandana Verma said, "The team launched a checking operation at the Old Station barrier in the Ritha Sahib area on Saturday evening. During the checking, a person riding a scooty was stopped and searched. The team recovered a leopard hide from his possession." The accused was identified as Deepak Singh Bohra (28), a resident of Gagri Paar in the Ritha Sahib area of Champawat district. During preliminary questioning, the accused allegedly confessed to killing a leopard in the forest using a clutch wire. He later skinned the animal, removed the bones and hid them in the forest, police said. "Based on the accused's disclosure, the forest department team also recovered the leopard's bones that had been concealed in the forest. The hide measured around two metres in length. The accused was on his way to Lohaghat to sell the hide when he was apprehended," said Verma. Police seized the scooty, a mobile phone and the leopard hide from the accused. An FIR has been registered against him under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and further investigation is underway....