The Gujarat forest department has initiated a probe after photographs of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja posing in front of Asiatic lions in Gir National Sanctuary became viral on social media.
Some of the photographs of Jadeja, alongwith his wife and others, posing with a pride of lions in the background are doing rounds on social media for the past couple of days. These pictures surfaced soon after the forest officials issued an advisory for tourists and locals not to take any selfies with lions, to discourage them from getting too close to the big cats and putting their lives at risk.
The all-rounder was on a two-day visit to Sasan Gir near the mountain town Junagdh. He had been on a lion safari with his wife Riva. However, he and his wife reportedly got down from the vehicle and clicked photographs with a pride of lions. These pictures he might have shared to his friends surfaced on social media.
“This is a protected forest and tourists are not allowed to get down from their vehicles. We have received information that some pictures of the cricketer who got down from the vehicle and taken selfies with lions have been circulating on the social media. Even some forest guards were seen with him in these photographs. Therefore, we have ordered the superintendent of Gir National Park to conduct an inquiry and file a report,” Aniruddh Pratap Singh, chief conservator of forests (CCF) of Junagadh wildlife circle, told media persons.
To add to Jadeja woes a PIl has also been filed in Gujarat High Court on Friday seeking a probe in to the incident of Ravindra Jadeja’s alleged selfies with lions.