The carcass of an adult female leopard was recovered from the boot space of an abandoned car at a toll plaza along the Asian Highway 48 in Alipurduar on Wednesday night.

Foresters who visited the spot — near Rangalibazna under Madarihat police station of Alipurduar — suspect that the animal died after being hit by a vehicle on the highway.

Police suspect that it is the same vehicle that had rammed into the leopard while heading towards Alipurduar.

“It seems that the leopard died on the spot after being hit by the car. To conceal the incident, the offenders loaded the carcass in the boot space of the car and fled the area (near Jaldapara National Park),” said a forester.

Sources said the foresters and the police had started looking for the vehicle after local people informed them about the incident.

“The offenders left the car at a toll plaza on the highway with broken number plates. However, we have seized certain documents from the vehicle and hope to trace them soon,” said a police officer.

Deepak M, the divisional forest officer of Jaldapara wildlife division, said the leopard had sustained grievous injuries. “We are waiting for the postmortem report. Searches are on to nab the offenders,” the DFO added.