Mumbai: A six-month-old leopard cub recently succumbed to injuries after it was dragged around and thrashed by the locals in Gondia, Maharashtra.
A video of the incident, which occurred 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 severely injured cub was rescued on January 6, but it succumbed to its injuries during 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 was lying on the ground. The viral video shows villagers assaulting the helpless cub and a villager dragging it across the open field and flinging it around.
“On receiving the information about a 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 during the search operation, a sub-adult leopard was also found.
The forest department provided necessary medication to the leopard, after which it was released in the forest.
Three persons were arrested and are now in police custody. The three were identified as Prakash Puram, Lokesh Jhade and Asif Sheikh. They were produced in a local court and sent to police custody till Friday.
