New Delhi: Two people arrested and questioned by the Madhya Pradesh State Tiger Strike Force in connection with the confiscation of ten leopard skins on the Gwalior-Agra highway in July have claimed that they were acting under the orders of the CEO of the NGO Wildlife SOS, per a report by the Indian Express.However, in a statement on August 17, Wildlife SOS categorically denied the allegations levelled against it.Allegations of a ‘staged operation’Per the Indian Express report, two persons, Bhagwan Singh alias Salim and his accomplice Wasim, were arrested on August 11 and 13, respectively, after the state Tiger Strike Force began probing a case in which four poachers were arrested on July 23 on the Gwalior-Agra highway for being in possession of ten leopard pelts.The leopard skins were thought to have originated from Madhya Pradesh. After the seizure of the skins, wildlife rescue and rehabilitation NGO Wildlife SOS had allegedly credited months of surveillance by its own Forest Watch anti-poaching unit for the successful operation.Following field investigations in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri and Morena forests, that revealed leopard remains buried in multiple sites, the Tiger Strike Force found links to Singh and Wasim. The news report quoted officers familiar with the investigation as saying that these two individuals had scouted forest areas around Shivpuri and Morena in a Wildlife SOS vehicle (which has now been taken into custody by the STSF), distributed leg-hold traps sourced from Haryana to handpicked local hunters, and arranged for four poachers to carry the ten leopard skins into Uttar Pradesh, where the UP police made the arrests.On questioning, both persons allegedly named the CEO of Wildlife SOS, Kartick Satyanarayan and claimed that they had acted on his orders. Both individuals are on the payroll of Wildlife SOS, per the report, which also quoted investigators as saying they had gathered “substantial digital evidence” tying Satyanarayan to an operation they believe was run “for personal gains.”It also stated that authorities are examining whether Satyanarayan organised the poaching and staged the seizures to build his and the NGO’s anti-poaching profile, and also whether he was involved in wildlife trafficking.The Indian Express quoted Madhya Pradesh chief wildlife warden Sameeta Rajoura as saying that after both key accused named Satyanarayan, he has been asked to appear before the Investigating Officer, and that the state forest department was coordinating with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau on the case.Per the report, the Tiger Strike Force has served a notice to Satyanarayan, asking him to appear before the Investigating Officer in Shivpuri on Monday (August 17). Satyanarayan told Indian Express that Wasim Akram is a director with Wildlife SOS and that he was on their payroll.Wildlife SOS rejects allegationsIn a statement on August 17, Wildlife SOS rejected the allegations levelled against it.“The attempt to vilify Wildlife SOS is just a total travesty of justice,” the NGO said in its statement. It said that it has “records and substantial proof” that none of the allegations would hold if “a fair assessment” was made.“Allegations have been flung with absolutely no basis onto the NGO, which works with the poorest of the forest dwellers. Wildlife SOS works alongside these dwellers because the animals mean as much to them as to nature lovers across the world. While the NGO is completely cooperating and willing for any kind of investigation, it has a track record of both ethical as well as publicly visible willingness to work within the changing guardrails of India’s forest officialdom,” Wildlife SOS’s statement read.“This is shocking, and we are deeply concerned,” said Satyanarayan, CEO and co-founder of Wildlife SOS. “Our immensely celebrated efforts over the years in rescuing and eventual banning of dancing bears in India is just one of the many stories that we are proud of.”Apart from working with regional and state authorities to crack down on wildlife crimes, Wildlife SOS, which was formed in 1995, runs 12 rescue and rehabilitation centres across the country, including specialised ones for bears, leopards and elephants such as the Agra Bear Rescue Centre (which, according to Wildlife SOS, is the largest sloth bear rescue facility in the world).In June, the Assam government decided to review its collaborations with the NGO following the death of a 13-month-old elephant calf during a treatment camp in Doomdooma Forest Division in Upper Assam in April. The animal died within 24 hours of treatment.Wildlife SOS later denied allegations that expired medicines, vaccines or injections had been used during the Doomdooma treatment camp. It said that all interventions were conducted in coordination with the Assam Forest Department, in the presence of authorised personnel and in accordance with established veterinary protocols.