Sadhu picks Patna zoo for ‘joyride’, guard pays

Sadhu denies the incident ever happened, adding that he had never been near the zoo. At the end of the ride, however, a zoo staff member manning the gate through which the men left was suspended. ‘‘I was so scared that I let them out. They were armed. How can somebody like me stop Sadhu Yadav?’’ says Gangeshwar Thakur, the guard from the Forest Department who was suspended. The guard who let in the cavalcade has invited no action. He says Sadhu and Begusarai RJD president came to the park well past the visiting hour.

Zoo Director Ranvir Singh had no answer when asked why the guard who let the cavalcade in was not suspended. He said he was not aware of or interested in the identity of the people in the car and his jurisdiction was limited to suspending the staff. ‘‘The man was suspended for dereliction of duty. He should have reported the incident to me.” Asked whether an FIR should have been registered, he said:‘‘FIRs are no solution to this.’’