Four get 3-day remand in lions' electrocution case

Junagadh, Oct 21 (UNI) A local court ordered three-day police remand to four accused in electrocution case of five Asiatic Lions at Prempara village in Dhari range of The Gir Sanctury.

Although the local police had demanded 10-days remand for all four accused, including main accused Durlabhji Shambhu Vadodaria, in whose field the incident took place, but the court ordered only three-day remand to them.

The other three accused are Purshottam Dhurlabhji Vadodaria, Bhala Hira Bharwad and Chhagan Ramji Hirani.

The five lions -- three lioness and two cubs -- died when the animals accidentally brushed against the electrified fence of his field.

In preliminary interrogation Durlabhji had confessed that the lions had died a week ago. When he spotted the electrocuted bodies of wild cats in his field, he called other three accused for assisting him in digging a deep pit to bury their carcasses. He then covered the pit with mud and then piled up fertilisers creating a mound of over five feet so that the incident would not come to light.

However, one of Durlabhji's three accomplices had panicked and informed the local forest officer about the incident yesterday. Soon forest officials from Junagadh and Amreli rushed to the spot and extricated the carcasses from the camouflaged pit.

The nails from one of the cub's foot was missing and added that this could have happened under natural circumstances. The postmortem of the carcasses was done on the spot by the Junagadh Sakarbaugh Zoo's veterinary surgeon Dr C N Bhuva and Dr Hirapara. Their primary report had said that all the animals had died due to electrocution.

However, the viscera of the carcasses has been sent to veterinary hospital at Anand and details are awaited.

Cases against all the accused has been filed under the Wildlife Protection Act.

UNI