BAHAWALPUR - A man who was on morning walk was mauled to death by lions inside Bahawalpur Zoo on Wednesday. The zoo management, Rescue workers and local police confirmed the incident. Police sources said that according to the preliminary investigation, the staff of the zoo came to know about the presence of the body of a man in the enclosure of lions when they came to feed them. The body of the victim was torn, and several parts were eaten by lions.
The teams of the Punjab Emergency Service Department, Rescue 1122, and the police rushed to the scene. The body was retrieved from the enclosure. It was in very bad condition as it was torn by tigers. Bahawalpur Deputy Commissioner Zaheer Anwar Jappa said that the staff count at Bahawalpur Zoo was full and there was no information from Bahawalpur police about the missing person. “According to primary information, the man entered or fell in the enclosure of lions last night,” he said, adding that the body of the victim was found when the Zoo staff came to feed the lions.
The deputy commissioner, however, said that an investigation into the incident had been ordered and stern action would be taken against the official or any staffer of Bahawalpur Zoo if his negligence regarding the incident was found.
Meanwhile, Caretaker Chief Minister Moshin Naqvi has also taken serious notice of the incident. He expressed his deep sorrow and grief over the death of a man in the lions’ enclosure. He directed the officials concerned to conduct an inquiry into the incident. He also ordered improvements to security at Bahawalpur Zoo. Deputy Director of the Wildlife Department, Ali Usman Bukhari, said that the security staff of Bahawalpur Zoo did not hear any noise from the tigers’ enclosure last night or Wednesday morning. He said that, however, a departmental inquiry would be conducted to know the facts of how the victim man entered or fell into the enclosure of tigers. The police said that the body of the victim had been shifted to the hospital morgue. However, the police were yet to identify the victim. Further investigation was underway.