Panic calls from residents near zoo keep cops on edge
After two hours when we went through the CCTV footage we realised the kid had seen a street cat and assumed it to be a tiger, the SHO said.
Hyderabad: Panic calls from the residents of Chirag Alinagar, following the sighting of an animal, kept the police and the nearby zoo authorities on edge. Though the incident had happened on January 17, it came to light on Wednesday.
A 12-year-old boy, a resident of Chirag Alinagar in Bahadurpura, came running inside his house and informed his mother about seeing a tiger. “Ammi Sher. Abhi deevar kud ke ander aya (Mother, saw a tiger jumping over the wall and coming inside.)” Following this his mother alerted her neighbours and one of them dialed 100.
“We rushed to Chirag Alinagar. The kid and the residents looked panicked. They informed us that a tiger just jumped over the wall and entered their locality,” R. Raghunath, SHO, Bhadurpura told Deccan Chronicle.
We formed special teams, instructed residents not to come out of their homes and latch their doors from inside, and then alerted the zoo authorities, Raghunath said.
Our teams along with locals patrolled the lanes in other localities also. After two hours when we went through the CCTV footage we realised the kid had seen a street cat and assumed it to be a tiger, the SHO said.
This is the second time such an incident has occurred. The residents of Chirag Alinagar who have been hearing the roars and chirps for three months got confused and dialed 100. It was later confirmed that the animal was a street cat, and not a tiger, a police officer said.
There are over 50 families living in the area abutting the zoo boundary wall in Chirag Alinagar who after sunset hear roars of tigers, lions and cheetahs.
The residents stay on the other side of the wall where old lions, tigers and cheetahs with medical issues undergo treatment, a police officer said.
The residents of Chirag Alinagar are often heard saying, “Agar jyada bat kara toh deevar ke us paar bhaj donga (If you do not behave, you will be thrown outside of the wall)”, Mohammed Asif, one of the residents, said.
Outsiders coming here get panicked hearing loud roars but we are used to these roars and chirms, Asif said.
Zoo authorities should raise the boundary wall on Makkhi Miya Dargah locality. The wall is currently eight to nine feet high and it should be raised by another seven feet so that wild animals cannot
enter and theft of sandalwood trees can be prevented, a resident said.