AHMEDABAD: A 21-year-old man was killed in a lion attack in Gujarat's Amreli district on July 8 after a group allegedly engaged in illegal lion watching entered a forest area near the boundary of Antalya Revenue area and the Luwaria Reserve Forest in Liliya taluka.
The victim, identified as Sohil Memon, died in the attack, prompting the Forest Department to launch a detailed investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The attack occurred between 7.30 and 8 pm. Senior forest officials, including Shetrunji Division Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Chirag Amin, rushed to the Liliya Range Office and initiated rescue, investigation and legal proceedings.
According to DCF Chirag Amin, preliminary findings suggest a lion and a lioness were in their mating period when the group allegedly entered the area for illegal lion watching. Officials suspect the animals were disturbed or provoked, following which the male lion turned aggressive and attacked Sohil Memon.
Forest officials said the lion dragged the victim's body deep into the forest and remained beside it in an aggressive state, forcing personnel to carry out a coordinated operation before recovering the body. It was later sent for postmortem.
As part of the investigation, the Forest Department has detained two youths who were allegedly part of the lion-watching group for questioning and is trying to identify others who may have been present.
Officials are also examining digital evidence.
According to local sources, scrutiny of the detained youths' mobile phones revealed that photographs and videos allegedly recorded during the illegal lion-watching had been deleted, and portions of the data had been formatted. The devices will be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to recover deleted files and establish the sequence of events.
Explaining what constitutes illegal lion watching, Amin said, "If a lion is seen naturally in a village or on farmland, that is not illegal lion watching. But entering the animal's habitat to track it, disturb it or provoke it is a serious violation. Harassing wild animals is a criminal offence under the Wildlife Protection Act, and strict legal action will be taken against anyone found involved."
The incident has once again highlighted the growing human-wildlife conflict around the Gir landscape. According to local accounts, at least four lion attacks on humans have been reported in the region over the past 20 days.
The latest tragedy follows a series of recent lion-related incidents across Saurashtra. In June, a five-year-old boy was killed in a lion attack in Chaturi village in Amreli district. Forest officials have also investigated suspected lion attacks in Jafrabad, Savarkundla, Rajula and Bhavnagar, raising fresh concerns over increasing encounters between Asiatic lions and humans.
The Forest Department is continuing its investigation to recover digital evidence, identify everyone present at the scene and determine whether violations of the Wildlife Protection Act contributed to the fatal incident. Authorities have also renewed calls for stricter action against illegal lion watching and greater public awareness to prevent such incidents.
