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Akhilesh Yadav targets Yogi government over leopard killing

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at the ruling BJP government in the state over the…

Akhilesh Yadav targets Yogi government over leopard killing

Leopard

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at the ruling BJP government in the state over the killing of a leopard in a locality in Lucknow.

Residents of Ashiayana in the capital were living in fear for the last three days after a leopard was spotted in the area.

On Saturday, 17 February, the UP Police managed to kill the leopard. According to reports, a police station incharge fired at the endangered big cat killing it.

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As animal rights activists reacted with furore, Yadav questioned if the Yogi Adityanath government has now extended its “encounter policy” to animals.

“Which law says that animals must be killed? It could have been tranquilised. Has encounter of animals, too, started under the new government? This is illegal. Those responsible must not be spared,” wrote Yadav.

The leopard had reportedly attacked and injured 10 people, including a cop, before it was killed. The police team involved in killing the leopard was felicitated by the department as well as the residents.

Reports say that the forest department, which had been trying to capture the big cat alive, has filed a complaint against the killing of the leopard.

Hunting and attacking leopard, protected under Schedule I, is prohibited and punishable under Section 9 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

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