Raipur, May 30 (PTI) Two people were arrested in Mahasamund in Chhattisgarh for allegedly trying to sell a pangolin, a scaly ant-eater that is completely protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, police said on Sunday.

Damru Sidar (39) and Nepal Sidar (35) were held on a tip off from a bridge in Temri village in Saraipali area on Saturday, Mahasamund Superintendent of Police Prafull Kumar Thakur told PTI.

"They were trying to sell a 3.5 feet long pangolin weighing 11 kilograms," the official said.

The species is highly prized by wildlife smugglers due to a misconception that its body parts and scales etc are a cure for several diseases.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)