Farmer electrocutes lion to death near Gir forest

Vadodara: An Asiatic lion was electrocuted to death allegedly by a farmer in Moti Monpuri village in Visavad taluka of Junagadh district within the Gir forest range, Deputy Conservator of Forests, West Division, Gir Forest, K Ramesh said.

"The farmer, Jamanbhai Dobariya, has been arrested under the Wildlife Act and will be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours," Ramesh said, adding that the electrocution took place a couple of days ago when the lion strayed into an electrically-charged wire. After the lion was electrocuted, his dead body was dragged into a cement causeway near the road. Due to heavy rains in the region, it took a couple of days to learn about it, Ramesh said, adding that it came to light only when he was patrolling in the area. He said it took a couple of hours to bring out the lion`s body from a cement pipe under which it was stuck. It was found in decomposed state and samples were sent to the Forensic Laboratory (FSL) at Junagadh. The FSL report has indicated that its died due to electrocution, he said. After this, forest department teams, police and electricity company officials, carried out massive combing operations to find out the killer, which took them to Dobariya`s farm from where pugmarks and other body parts of the electrocuted lion, were recovered, he said. The possibility of two other suspects being involved in the electrocution of the lion cannot be ruled out, he said. Further investigations are on, he said. PTI