A leopard was reportedly beaten to death, its teeth and nails were removed by locals in India and the incident has caused outrage online. Netizens are asking for stricter animal abuse laws in the country after a number of cases emerged recently.
The incident occurred in Guwahati city in the northeast Indian state of Assam.
It was reported that the leopard had entered a residential colony on the outskirts of the city and it was cornered by a group of men and beaten to death before the forest department could rescue the animal.
According to Indian media reports, six people have been arrested in relation to the case till now and the police are looking for the remaining accused.
One video circulating online shows the locals carrying out a procession after the killing and posing with the dead leopard on camera, while lifting its carcass.
The video was shared on Twitter by user Mohammed Zubair, @ @zoo_bear, on June 7 In the clip, several men holding and walking with the carcass along with a group of people, including children, following them can be seen.
In a consecutive post, Zubair shared pictures of a several men supposedly at a police station and wrote: “Six people and a juvenile have be arrested by @assampolice @GuwahatiPol.”
Guwahati police, @GuwahatiPol, tweeted: “In connection with the killing of a leopard in Katahbari, Nizarapar area, today Gorchuk [...] case no 315/2020 has been registered and police has arrested six accused persons. Further investigation is on. Efforts are on to arrest the remaining accused persons…”
Assam Police, @assampolice, shared a picture of those arrested and wrote: “Acting swiftly, @GuwahatiPol arrested six people, including a juvenile for the killing of a leopard that took place today at Katahbari Pahar.”
An investigation into the matter is underway.
Recently, an incident of a dog that was allegedly tied to a car in Delhi and dragged on the road sparked outrage online.
Earlier, a pregnant elephant died after being fed a firecracker-filled pineapple in Kerala. Following the tragic incidents, netizens asked for stricter laws protecting animals and punishing animal abusers in India.
