Hyderabad: The carcass of a deer was found at the shooting range complex located on the University of Hyderabad campus. The carcass appeared to have been pierced by what appears to be a bullet, besides other injuries.
The incident came to light around 9 am when an insider from the shooting range informed the security personnel of the university.
The security staff went to the location but were locked up for more than one-and-half-a-hours by the shooting range security. Gachibowli police officials were called who reached the spot at 11:45 am. Police handed the case over to the forest officials for further investigation.
Forest officials inspected the carcass and seized it for post mortem. After receiving the autopsy report, forest officials concluded that the deer died out of shock after being attacked by dogs.
There were also speculations that the animal was hit by a bullet. Asked about the injury, Mr Ch. Shivayya, forest divisional officer, said, “It could have been caused by its own horn. If it was a bullet injury, the region around the bullet hole would be burnt and turn black. We could not find that in this case.”
Wildlife experts said that in case of a dog attack, there would be scratches on the deer's body but there were no such signs. Besides, the dogs would have eaten some part of the body which was not the case. Experts said that even bullets that are used for sports can kill animals.
In the past four years, there have been four such incidents where animals, including one peacock, have died under suspicious circumstances. “It is estimated that there are around 200 deer in the 2,500 acres of varsity premises but there is no proper compound wall or fencing to protect the vulnerable creatures from the animal attack,” said a forest official.
