Video Editor: Mohd Ibrahim
A six-month-old leopard cub succumbed to injuries after being dragged and beaten by locals in Maharashtra on Monday, 7 January. The incident was captured in a video that has now gone viral.
The injured cub died during treatment at Kohamara village, after being rescued near the Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve in Gondia forest division of Vidarbha region, Maharashtra, reported PTI.
The viral video shows villagers assaulting the hapless cub and a man dragging it across the open field and flinging it around.
Speaking to PTI, a forest official said locals who indulged in the ‘gruesome act’ clicked 'selfies' with the cub and later uploaded them on social media websites.
Gondia Deputy Conservator of Forest Yuvraj S told PTI that on receiving information about the leopard cub being thrashed by locals, forest officials rushed to the injured spot and found it unconscious.
“We immediately provided necessary medication to the injured cub, which was suffering from diarrhoea, and kept it under observation.”Yuvraj S, Gondia Deputy Conservator of Forest
"During a search in the area, we also found a sub-adult leopard, aged around one-and-a-half years. We took it under our care and provided necessary medication, after which it was released in the forest," Yuvraj added.
Another official told PTI that three persons have been held in connection with what appears to be a barbaric torture of the wild cat.
The three identified as Prakash Puram, Lokesh Jhade and Asif Sheikh will be produced in a local court and sent to police custody till Friday.
(With inputs from PTI)
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