Leopard killed,Orissa to probe TV journalists role

Wildlife officials said the animal was trying to escape when the villagers stoned it to death.

Officials of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) have asked the Orissa Wildlife Department to inquire whether a local TV reporter incited villagers to chase and kill a male leopard that had accidentally strayed into a forest plantation near Bhubaneswar early in the morning on Thursday.

A one-and-a-half-year-old male leopard had strayed into a Forest Department plantation,located on a high sandbar on Kuakhia riverbed when it was spotted by people of Marichia village under Bhubaneswar panchayat samiti. Acting on the complaint of a member of National Board for Wildlife,Biswajit Mohanty,NTCA officials asked the state government to inquire into the incident.

Wildlife officials said the animal was trying to escape when the villagers stoned it to death. The leopard was scared when some villagers spotted it. Though the local people informed the wildlife officials in Nandankanan zoological park,the animal was stoned to death by villagers just about the time when Nandankanan people reached the spot. The animal was hiding behind the tree plantation, said Jayanta Kumar Das,Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Bhubaneswar city division.

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The animal injured three locals before it was stoned to death. A post-mortem done on the animal showed it suffered grievous injuries in the head.

Officials said the leopard could have strayed from nearby Chandaka wildlife sanctuary,but were not sure.

But what the wildlife officials are looking into is whether a local TV reporter and his cameraman had incited the locals to chase and stone the leopard to death for procuring striking visuals.

Chief Wildlife Warden of Orissa Priyanath Padhi said if the TV reporter had incited the killing,severe action will be taken against him. This is a very serious allegation and a crime under the Wildlife Protection Act. If found guilty,we would not spare anyone. We would soon register a case, said Das. Leopard enjoys highest protection under Schedule-I of the WP Act like tigers and elephants.

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The DFO said the wild animal could have been easily captured had the people waited for just 15 more minutes as the Nandankanan officials had come armed with two types of tranquiliser darts.