Tirupati: A 38-year-old man was mauled to death by a male lion after he jumped into its enclosure at the Sri Venkateswara Zoo Park in Tirupati on Thursday afternoon. The deceased was Gurjar Prahlad, a native of Turana village in Alwar district of Rajasthan.
According to police, Prahlad arrived at the zoo as a lone visitor after purchasing a ticket. However, upon reaching the lion enclosure, he reportedly flouted safety norms by entering the off-limits area and attempting to take a dangerous selfie with the Lion, around 2:30 pm.”
"Even as the watcher on duty observed him entering the no-entry zone near the lion enclosure from a distance and raised an alarm, the man sneaked into the secluded area, scaled up on top of a water tank and jumped over the fence into the enclosure," police said.
The 12-year-old male lion, named Dungarpur, immediately pounced on Prahlad and dragged him to a corner of the enclosure. "Despite climbing a tree to try and escape, the lion held him by his neck and tore off his clothes. The feline then mauled Prahlad to death within 10 minutes as the helpless watcher looked on," described a police official.
The enclosure has a four-foot wall and six-foot iron fencing meant to keep visitors safe. Even though the watcher warned him repeatedly, Prahlad allegedly sped towards the enclosure intentionally before jumping in, say eye-witnesses.
After the incident, the lion was immediately shifted into a night house located outside the enclosure.
The zoo authorities then alerted the police at 2:45 pm about the shocking occurrence.
A police team, led by DSP Sarath Raj and CI Thameem Ahmed, rushed to the zoo park to take stock of the situation and conducted necessary panchnama procedures.
An investigation revealed that while the victim's entry into the zoo was confirmed by CCTV footage, no cameras were present near the lion enclosure to capture the attack.
Prahlad's identity was established using his recovered Aadhar card, bus ticket and a slip containing phone numbers. Originally a driver by profession hailing from Rajasthan, he had travelled to Tirupati by bus from Hyderabad on February 13, just two days prior to his death. A case has been registered and further investigation is under way.
Meanwhile, the police suspect Prahlad was mentally unstable or intoxicated. They are awaiting post-mortem reports for confirmation.
The SV Zoo authorities had not responded to phone calls and also not made any official statement regarding the incident.
