Tripura: Forest Official Suspended Over Naming Lion Pair ‘Akbar-Sita’

AGARTALA: In a recent development, the Tripura government has suspended a senior forest official for recording the names of a lion pair as ‘Akbar’ and ‘Sita’.

Responding to a petition filed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Calcutta High Court Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya said that his conscience did not align with the idea of naming the lions.

The judge further stated that it was not only because of Sita but he did not support naming a lion as Akbar. Bhattacharyya questioned, “Why would you name a lion Samrat Ashok?”

According to reports, the lion pair named ‘Akbar’ and ‘Sita’ arrived at the North Bengal Wild Aminals Park in Siliguri, West Bengal, on February 12 after they were transferred from Tripura’s Sepahijala Zoo as a part of an animal exchange program.

Sources confirmed that the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Praveen Agarwal has been suspended over the matter.

Tripura under-secretary Tapas Bhowmik said that disciplinary actions against Agarwal, who was also serving as the Chief Wildlife Warden, were contemplated and pending.

A notification dated February 22 stated, “Now, therefore, the Competent Authority in exercise of powers conferred by clause (a) of sub-rule (i) of rule 3 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, hereby places the said Shri P.L. Agrawal, IFS (TR:1994), under suspension with immediate effect.”

As per reports, Prabin Lal Agarwal, a 1994-batch Indian Forest Service Officer, recorded the names of the Lion pair as Akbar and Sita in the dispatch register before their transfer to West Bengal.

Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court verbally instructed the West Bengal state government to assign new names to the lions.

The Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary and Zoo, renowned for its rich variety of wildlife, has recently received several new additions. Among them are a pair of Royal Bengal tigers, leopards, golden and silver pheasants, peacocks, and mountain mynas as a part of the exchange program overseen by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA).

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