Carcasses of leopard, sambar found in Mumbai

In a suspected case of poaching, decomposed carcasses of a three-year-old leopard and an adult sambar were found in the Film City studio premises in suburban Mumbai, a forest official said Wednesday.

As many 11 nails of the leopard and the sambar's head were missing, he said.

The carcasses were spotted by a security guard near the sets of a television serial at the studio complex in Aarey Colony, located near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, he said.

On being alerted, forest and police officials rushed to the spot, he said.

The leopard's carcass was found in a trap, he said, adding that 11 of its nails were missing and the feline died nearly 15 days back.

The sambar's carcass, with its head missing, was found around 100 metres from that spot, he said.

"It appears to be a case of poaching as vital body parts of the animals are missing," the official said.

He said it was impossible that the leopard got trapped near the TV serial's sets and nobody heard its screams.

A probe was on into the case, he added.