Central team to visit Junagadh to probe lion deaths

Junagadh, Apr 5 (UNI) District Forest Officer (DFO) B A Shukla has been transferred from Junagadh to Gandhinagar while Mr B P Patti has replaced him, apparently to facilitate a Central probe into the lion poaching cases afflicting the Sasan Gir Sanctuary here.

Mr Patti is an Indian Forest Service officer of the 1994 batch and had served as DFO in the Gir sanctuary between 1998 and 2002.

According to sources, Mr Patti's posting at Gir has come in the wake of the announcement of a probe by the Union Government into the deaths of the lions and cubs. Mr Patti's posting at Junagadh is to facilitate the probe, sources added.

Chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Bharat Pathak told UNI that a Central team is likely to visit Junagadh shortly on a fact-finding mission. He however, declined to comment on reports in a section of the press which have pegged the number of lion deaths at fifteen instead of the official figure of six.

Meanwhile, four persons -- forest department beat guard Rajak A Baloch, his brother Haji, their cousin Duru K Baloch, and an ex-range forest officer Allauddin J Baloch -- who were detained yesterday in connection of poaching, will be subjected to lie-detection tests.

UNI