Doctor to be booked for trapping leopard

A pair of leopards,along with their cubs,had entered Dr Ajeet Gupta’s farmhouse (F-14) in the Aravalli Hills on Friday night,apparently to prey on his pet dogs. The leopard family killed one of the dogs and left its half-eaten carcass behind. The leopards returned on Saturday night for more prey,but the female got caught in a trap laid by the farmhouse owner.

Abdul Rehman,a domestic help at the farmhouse,said the male leopard and the cubs sat outside the cage all night trying to rescue the trapped mother. Yogender Yadav,owner of another farmhouse in the area,said the leopard family had never attacked humans and it was wrong on the part of the doctor to have kept his dogs in the open,thus attracting the attention of the big cats.

Records show Dr Gupta had not sought permission from forest officials to lay the trap to capture the animals,listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Act. After the locals,who consider the leopards lucky for their village,reported the matter,the district administration and People For Animals,an NGO,rushed to the farmhouse to free the animal.

The forest officials too find themselves in trouble for not bothering to book Dr Gupta under relevant sections for trapping an endangered animal without permission. They,however,rushed the leopard,which had got injured trying to set itself free,to Sadrana animal hospital near Jhajjar on Sunday afternoon,said Conservator of Forests K C Meena.

“We have asked the Deputy Commissioner of Gurgaon to lodge an FIR against the farmhouse owner as well as the forest and wildlife officers responsible,” said Keshni Anand,Haryana Principal Secretary (Forests and Wildlife).

Gurgaon DC Rajender Kataria too confirmed that an FIR would be lodged against Dr Gupta soon.

The leopard was released into the wild later in the day.

The Aravallis,natural abode to many wild animals,has been plagued by illegal constructions and mining of late.