Police said the three accused have been handed over to the forest department for further action

A leopard skin was recovered from a house in Gondia district of Maharashtra and three persons were arrested in this connection, police said on Thursday.

The recovery was made on Tuesday, following which the trio was arrested, police said.

"Acting on a tip-off, officials of the crime branch raided a house of one Mangesh Badole in Bakti village in Arjuni Morgaon tehsil on Tuesday. During the search, the hide of a full-grown leopard was found packed in a plastic bag in a room," senior police officer Dinkar Thosare said.

"The skin measured 5.11 feet and its price in the international market runs into lakhs of rupees," he added.

After the recovery, police called in forest officials, who inspected the skin and confirmed its authenticity.

After that, police arrested Badole and two others - Vinod Rukhmode and Ravindra Walde, both residents of Bhandara district, Mr Thosare said, adding that the trio was later handed over to forest department for further action.

A case was registered against three accused and further investigation is on.