2 min readRaipurFeb 6, 2014 01:13 AM IST
First published on: Feb 6, 2014 at 01:13 AM IST
Days after The Indian Express reported that anthrax did not kill the 21 female cheetals who were found dead at the Bilaspur zoo last month, as claimed in a probe report by veterinary doctors, the Congress has begun an agitation demanding action against the officials.
The party staged a walkout from the assembly session on Tuesday, and PCC president Bhupesh Baghel has now formed a panel of five MLAs to probe the matter. The panel, comprising slain PCC chief Nand Kumar Patel’s son Umesh Patel, will visit the zoo soon and submit its report to Baghel.
Soon after the 21 female cheetals were found dead in the zoo last month, the forest department and veterinary doctors had quickly buried them without even autopsy. The bellies of some cheetals were split open, but the probe report claimed it was caused by “crow beaks”. Wildlife experts have already junked the claim, saying such deep opening cannot be created by crows.
Patel raised the issue in the assembly as the Congress flashed The Indian Express report and pointed that BJP MLA Raju Kshatriya and men of local muscleman Shankar Mali had held a party in the zoo the night before the cheetals were found dead. “During his Vikas Yatra, Chief Minister Raman Singh had lunch with his team at the zoo,” Baghel said in the assembly, demanding an explanation from the government.
“It was not the first instance. Government officials and BJP politicians regularly hold parties in the zoo. They have converted it into their retreat,” Baghel told The Indian Express. “It has now been proved that they did not die of anthrax. The government should inform what action it has taken against officers who spread the rumour of anthrax.”
The Indian Veterinary Research Institute of Bareilly has also confirmed that there was no symptom of anthrax.
CM Singh has admitted it be a “serious incident” and promised a probe.
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