Leopard cub killed in Maharashtra, clip goes viral

Mumbai: A six-month-old leopard cub recently succumbed to injuries after it was dr-agged around and injured by locals in Gondia, Maharashtra. A video of the incident, which occu-rred at Koylari village near the Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve in Gondia forest division of Vidarbha region, has gone viral on social media platforms.

According to the state forest department, the se-verely injured cub was rescued on January 6, but it lost its life while getting treated in Kohmara village the next day. “We have arrested three persons in connection with the torture of the animal. Some local villagers had dragged the cub by its tail and dumped it in an open area in the forest,” the official said.

After the torture, the locals clicked pictures and took selfies while the dehydrated cub lying on the ground. The viral video shows villagers assaulting the hapless cub and a villager dragging it across the open field and flinging it around.

“On receiving information about the leopard cub being thrashed by locals, forest officials rushed to the spot and found it unconscious. We immediately provided medication to the injured cub, which was suffering from diarrhoea, and kept it under observation,” Gondia deputy conservator of forest Yuvraj S. said.

Officials stated that in the search operation, a sub-adult leopard was also found that aged around one-and-a-half years. The forest department took it under our care and provided necessary medication, after which it was released in the forest.

After ascertaining with the videographic eviden-ce, three persons were ar-rested and are now in police custody. The three were identified as Prak-ash Puram, Lokesh Jha-de and Asif Sheikh. They were produced in a local court and sent to police custody till Friday.