PATNA: Hundreds of Nilgai were culled in last two months by the forest department In Bihar’s Vaishali district where an FIR was lodged after a video emerged in which a JCB machine is seen burying an injured antelope alive in a pit. The Nilgai, the largest antelope in Asia, is designated as vermin in Bihar.
The forest department had hired a sharp shooter after herds of Nilgai had caused extensive damages to standing crops in the district. “About 495 Nilgai were culled in August, while more than 500 were culled in July,” District Forest Officer, Vaishali, BB Pal said. But, the culling operation was caught in a controversy after the forest staff buried an injured Nilgai alive at Bhagwanpur in Vaishali with the help of an earthmover on September 2.
The gross violation came to light after a video of the animal cruelty was widely shared on social media. The police have now lodged an FIR against the driver of the earth mover who buried the injured Nilgai. “The forest department suspended a forest guard and lodged an FIR against the driver and others for their act of animal cruelty,” Superintendent of Police, Vaishali, MS Dhillon said.