Authorities of the Mahendra Chaudhury Zoological Park, also known as Chhatbir Zoo, have decided to install CCTV cameras at the left-out places after the theft of four red sand boas. The incident of theft took place a few days back.
Manish Kumar, director of the zoo said all the corners of the zoo would be brought under CCTV surveillance and security would be beefed up. The recent incident of theft has prompted the authorities to take this step, he added. “The zoo already has CCTV cameras in most of the enclosures covering the big cats, including lions, tigers and jaguars. The enclosures housing deer and other exotic animals are also under surveillance. However, a few important areas have been left out due to financial constraints, but now we will cover them too,” said the director.
The enclosure from which the snakes were stolen was not covered by CCTV surveillance earlier. The lake where visitors take a break during their visits and the elephant enclosure are among other places which don’t have CCTV cameras. This is not the first case of theft at the zoo. last year, on August 27 and 28, an Indian Great Horned Owl, a rare species of bird, was stolen and a forest guard named Kuldeep was found guilty. After thorough investigation, the forest guard was suspended
but the authorities failed to avert such incidents. Punjab and Haryana is known for Tantrik practices in which owl sacrifice is a common phenomenon. During Diwali, the demand of owl for sacrifice soars in the region and it also draws a lot of money. The recently stolen sand boas are not a rare species but these snakes are used by the Tantriks. The high demand of the snake for certain superstitious practices make them a sought after commodity the prices sometimes running into lakhs. But Manish refuted such claims. However the zoo authorities have taken serious note of the offence and beefed up the security at the zoo. All the workers were asked to be more vigilant. The director has also asked them to be more cautious about visitors who are seen in and around the zoo premises during odd hours.