Bengaluru: Thousands of visitors had to return in disappointment from the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) on Friday, as a work force of around 200 staffers blocked the entry to the zoo in protest against the police for allegedly ill-treating and harassing senior forest officials. The police had acted on a complaint lodged against them on the recent leopard escape row.
The workers observed protest for the whole day burnt effigies. They demanded suspension of police sub-inspector Narendra Babu, who allegedly ‘ill-treated and harassed’ the senior forest officials.
Though the Executive Director of BBP, Santosh Kumar, issued a plea asking the striking workers to resume work on Saturday, the workers have pledged to continue strike till the sub-inspector has been suspended. The protestors even submitted a complaint to the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) office claiming the police were harassing them over a fake complaint filed by vested interests.
Though the workers did not carry out any work at the park, some of them did feed the animals. “For the high-handedness of the police, why innocent wild animals should be left hungry,” said a worker. Around 5,000 visitors on an average turn up on Fridays at the Bannerghatta Biological Park and Zoo.
The executive director, Santhosh Kumar, along with the Assistant Conservator of Forest, and the Range Forest Officer was summoned by the Bannerghatta police on Thursday and reportedly ‘ill-treated and harassed’ by them following a complaint registered by an activist over the escape of a leopard. The senior forest officials were detained at the police station from 1 pm until about 6 pm and the police even gheraoed the official’s car when they said they were going. The forest officials had to call their seniors to intervene and were later let off. An activist, identified as Mohan Raj, had lodged a complaint on March 7 alleging that the leopard escaped due to the negligence by the forest officials.
