At least three leopards were reportedly killed in Uttarakhand's Rajaji National Park. It has been revealed that a man from Haridwar poisoned them to take revenge over the death of one of his two pet dogs.
The accused, identified as Sukhpal, said that the leopards took away one of his puppies while severely injuring the other. Confessing to the crime, Sukhpal said that he was angered after the incident happened and he had apparently arranged for some insecticides and sprinkled copious amounts on the carcass of the dead dog.
Later, he went on to throw away the dog's body inside the forest.
According to forensic experts, the post-mortem conducted on the leopards showed that they had consumed the meat of the dog and died due to poisoning. The reports further revealed that the three leopards had poisoned body parts of the same dog inside their stomach.
Meanwhile, the officers also connected the dots and found that the leopards were poisoned with insecticides used by forest nurseries. It was on August 5 when the carcasses of the three leopards were recovered from different divisions of the Rajaji National Park.
According to a report in Times of India, Sukhpal's wife worked as a contract worker in a forest nursery. The officers then held Sukhpal.
Sukhpal emptied an entire bottle of the pesticide to kill the leopards. It was so strong that all three leopards died after feasting on the baby pup.
Sukhpal was produced before a court. He has been given 12 days of judicial remand. In another tragic incident, five leopard cubs were charred to death in Pune after they were caught in some trash after the farmers decided to burn. They were 10 days old. The incident was reported from Ambegaon taluka of Pune district on April 3.
