Mumbai: Multiple animal welfare organisations have called for strict action against MLA Chandrakant Patil from Jalgaon’s Muktainagar for allegedly beating a two-year-old female leopard in his constituency. The organisations have written to Maharashtra deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, urging swift action and also urged the forest department to register a preliminary offence report (POR) against him.
The letter, dated April 23, was written by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India), Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA), Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (WRRC), and the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO). The collective of organisations flagged various viral videos which showed Patil and other citizens beating the leopard during an official forest department operation in Muktainagar.
The leopard was spotted near a government guesthouse and darted with a tranquiliser during a removal operation. As the sedative took effect, onlookers, including MLA Patil, allegedly began chasing and striking the animal, protected under Schedule-1, with sticks in a chaotic scene before officials were finally able to secure her.
The organisations have asked Dy CM to take swift action against the legislator for his actions. Simultaneously, they also wrote to Jalgaon’s deputy conservator of forests Ram Dhotre to immediately register a POR and coordinate with local police for prompt criminal action against all accused persons identified in the footage and through investigation.
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The organisations have requested that authorities take action under The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which prohibits hunting of protected wild animals and defines “hunting” to include capture-related acts and attempts. The coalition also urged that applicable provisions of other laws be invoked wherever the facts support them, including for cruelty and obstruction of public servants in the discharge of their duties.
The groups have called on the Maharashtra Forest Department to conduct a time-bound inquiry into how the crowd was permitted to close in on the leopard during the operation and to adopt corrective measures to prevent future rescues from being compromised by mob interference.
“A wild animal who is frightened, injured, or sedated is not a punching bag, and a rescue operation is not a spectacle. If anyone, especially an elected representative, joins a mob that assaults a protected species and interferes with officials doing their jobs, authorities must respond firmly and fast,” PETA India said in a statement.
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