Four officials attached, 3 arrested for killing, burning bear

Srinagar, Dec 19 (UNI) The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered attachment of four wildlife officials even as police arrested three people so far in connection with the burning and killing of a wild bear by a mob in Tral area of Pulwama district on November 18.

Talking to UNI here, Regional Wildlife Warden Kashmir Syed Farooq Ahmed Geelani said four senior officials have been attached in view of the incident. These are a range officer, two foresters and a field operator, he added.

Mr Geelani said police have so far arrested three people from Tral area in connection with the incident.

He said the wildlife department had named four people in its First Information Report (FIR) lodged with the Tral police station.

Mr Geelani said the department has already ordered a probe and investigations have been launched into the ''unfortunate and shameful'' incident. Principal Chief Conservator Forests (PCCF) Irshad Khan will conduct the inquiry and ascertain the facts regarding the incident, he added.

Mr Geelani once again stressed that this was an isolated incident and had never happened in Kashmir ever.

''We strongly condemn and feel ashamed and sorry over the incident....It is a serious crime and has hurt the sentiments of millions of animal lovers across the world. We will take all possible measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.'' Mr Geelani said the incident, though an isolated one, was an eye-opener for the Wildlife Department as more corrective measures would be taken to prevent man-animal conflict in future.

He said the department would soon launch several programmes in the Kashmir valley to create awareness among the people about the wildlife and initiate measures for its protection.

Mr Geelani said police observed restraint on opening fire on the mob that day as it would have resulted in several casualties.

''It was a mob fury. Any police action would have resulted in a number of human casualties. Besides the mob was enraged as the wild animals had killed many people during the past few weeks,'' he said.

Mr Geelani said six deaths by wild animals had been reported from different parts of Kashmir over the past several weeks. While hundreds have been wounded, about 50-60 badly mauled people were undergoing treatment, including plastic surgeries, in various hospitals across the Valley, he added.

During this year, Mr Geelani said there have been 60-70 incidents of man-animal conflicts. However, in most of these cases the animals were driven to the jungles by the wildlife officials, he added.

Mr Geelani said there was an increase in the incidence of man-animal conflict over a period of time due to population explosion, disturbance of their natural habitation and the people moving to forest areas.

UNI AG VD KP2014