Two Weeks After Avni’s Killing, Cubs Hit by Train in Chandrapur
Samples obtained from the two cubs will be sent to labs for tests following which post -mortem would be conducted.
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Two tiger cubs were killed on Thursday, 15 November, after being hit by a train in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, over 150 kilometres from Nagpur, an official told PTI.
The two cubs, around six-months-old, were hit by the Balharshah-Gondia passenger train near Junona village between Chandrapur and Nagbhid stations around 7-7:30 am, killing them instantly, Rishikesh Ranjan, general manager of the state-run Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra told PTI.
He said samples obtained from the two cubs will be sent to labs for tests following which the post-mortem would be conducted.
Death Amid Irregularities in Avni’s Killing
The death of the two cubs comes amid nationwide furore over killing of Avni – the big cat – who was shot dead in an operation in a forest in Yavatmal district on 2 November. The killing of T1, as the tigress was officially known, led to an outrage among animal lovers and wildlife organisations.
A senior forest department official on Monday, 12 November said that violations of guidelines are "evident" in Avni’s post-mortem report which also stated that the feline was shot while it was "facing away" from the shooter.
The post-mortem report issued recently stated that the bullet which killed the tigress entered from the rear part of its left forelimb.
"The animal was facing away from the shooter at that time," it said.
The report also raised doubts over the tranquiliser dart, which was seen on the big cat's carcass, suggesting that it was not even released from the tranquilising rifle.
"No haemorrhage was observed in the tigress' muscles at the darting spot. A dart fired from a syringe projector (tranquilising rifle) always leaves a significant and obvious haematoma, which was not observed in this case," the report said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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