U Sudhakar Reddy
The famed Hyderabad Nawab Shafat Ali Khan has shot dead another man eater
leopard in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday early hours following the orders of HP forest
and wild life department.
Shafat Ali Khan has shot a human-killing big cat at Bunalidhar village in Mandi district
of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday around 4.00 am when it ducked near the steps of a house.
Shafat Ali Khan told this correspondent over phone ,”Himachal Pradesh forest department
has been tracking the pug marks of the leopards moving in the area. They found that two
leopards are operating in the area. One is a big male and another young male. The big
male has killed a woman on July 18 and 32 year old Kashmir Singh was killed Lah Gala
village on the night of August 10. Near the Singh’s house when I spotted it charged on me
and I shot at it on August 11,”
He added ,”Then We started concentrating on the second one. With pug marks and google
mapping we identified the area. The young male was extremely daring. It killed a woman in
her house and injured the other. The area is a hilly terrain with apple orchards and
houses are located sparingly. There is no base prey like sambar, deer in this area which
have almost gone extinct due to which the leopards which are around 20 in number are
attacking the humans and other domesticated animals,”
He added ,”On 19th the forest department gave an order to shoot it down. The leopard was
taking refuge in the valley and in nights it is attacking villagers in Bhonalidhar. I
camped at the place. I have set up a cage to trap it. We also bought urine of female
leopard from zoo and sprinkled around the cage to attract it. However this leopard is so
cunning it revolved around it but it didn’t enter into the cage,” On August 21 morning
when I was camping in the village we hard monkey chattering and alarm calls which
indicated the spotting of leopard. “I saw it sitting on the stair case when I approached
it ducked down probably to pounce. At 20 metres distance I hit it and animal dropped,”
The village celebrated the killing.
He says ,”The leopards are elusive and cunning and dangerous so I used .458 Winchester
magnum heavy rifle,” He has All India arms license and has been hunting man eaters for
the past few decades.
Ten days earlier the NGOs and wild life lovers alleged that Shafat Ali Khan has allegedly
shot a wrong leopard on August 11 in Thunag in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. The
viscera of the leopard were sent for DNA analysis to find whether it killed human beings
and report is awaited. The issue has rocked the state leading to serious discussions.
After the killing of first leopard there are incidents of attacks on dogs and attacks on
people making HP government to issue shooting order again for the man eater leopard. Both
the places are in proximity.
The distance between the first shot where Khan killed the leopard and second place is
about 15 kilometre by road but it would be shorter and would be 5 kilometres if traversed
by a wild animal.
Wild life expert and Nehru Zoological Park curator Mr. A Shankaran said ,”Leopard is a
schedule 1 animal of Wildlife (protection) Act 1972. If he has got shooting orders from
the chief wild life warden twice separately specifying the area in which the big cat is
operating we can’t find fault with him. If he has done it only one order he can be found
fault. We have to find any human deaths reported in between,”
Mr Shafath Ali Khan said ,”Both are the man eaters. They are tracked and their
territorial range is mapped by forest officials. The claim of NGos and so called wild
life lovers if false and most of them have little knowledge. If I have shot a wrong
leopard why would the forest department gives me another order on 19th of August. I went
to the spot when all others including revenue and police failed to bring normalcy even
when kids are not able to go to school. If the man eaters are left out the desperate
villagers may have poisoned all the leopards. I have telescopic weapon and I shoot with
precision. The red triangle was marked by the forest department,”
The letter to Shafath Ali Khan of Red Hills in city on August 19th by Nachan Forest
division in Gohar district in Mandi reads ,”It has been detected that leopard has turned
man eater Thunag area falling in janjehli forest range killing three persons two women
and a man in the vicinity of thunag area and same was declared man eater by the HP Chief
Wild Life Warden. You are invited to trap the said leopard alive or eliminate with the
team of our forest officers at Thunag. Your stay and accommodation during the operation
period will be borne by the department,” In earlier letter on August 8th also same text
and same area was marked.
The famed Hyderabad Nawab Shafat Ali Khan has shot dead another man eater
leopard in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday early hours following the orders of HP forest
and wild life department.
Shafat Ali Khan has shot a human-killing big cat at Bunalidhar village in Mandi district
of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday around 4.00 am when it ducked near the steps of a house.
Shafat Ali Khan told this correspondent over phone ,”Himachal Pradesh forest department
has been tracking the pug marks of the leopards moving in the area. They found that two
leopards are operating in the area. One is a big male and another young male. The big
male has killed a woman on July 18 and 32 year old Kashmir Singh was killed Lah Gala
village on the night of August 10. Near the Singh’s house when I spotted it charged on me
and I shot at it on August 11,”
He added ,”Then We started concentrating on the second one. With pug marks and google
mapping we identified the area. The young male was extremely daring. It killed a woman in
her house and injured the other. The area is a hilly terrain with apple orchards and
houses are located sparingly. There is no base prey like sambar, deer in this area which
have almost gone extinct due to which the leopards which are around 20 in number are
attacking the humans and other domesticated animals,”
He added ,”On 19th the forest department gave an order to shoot it down. The leopard was
taking refuge in the valley and in nights it is attacking villagers in Bhonalidhar. I
camped at the place. I have set up a cage to trap it. We also bought urine of female
leopard from zoo and sprinkled around the cage to attract it. However this leopard is so
cunning it revolved around it but it didn’t enter into the cage,” On August 21 morning
when I was camping in the village we hard monkey chattering and alarm calls which
indicated the spotting of leopard. “I saw it sitting on the stair case when I approached
it ducked down probably to pounce. At 20 metres distance I hit it and animal dropped,”
The village celebrated the killing.
He says ,”The leopards are elusive and cunning and dangerous so I used .458 Winchester
magnum heavy rifle,” He has All India arms license and has been hunting man eaters for
the past few decades.
Ten days earlier the NGOs and wild life lovers alleged that Shafat Ali Khan has allegedly
shot a wrong leopard on August 11 in Thunag in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. The
viscera of the leopard were sent for DNA analysis to find whether it killed human beings
and report is awaited. The issue has rocked the state leading to serious discussions.
After the killing of first leopard there are incidents of attacks on dogs and attacks on
people making HP government to issue shooting order again for the man eater leopard. Both
the places are in proximity.
about 15 kilometre by road but it would be shorter and would be 5 kilometres if traversed
by a wild animal.
Wild life expert and Nehru Zoological Park curator Mr. A Shankaran said ,”Leopard is a
schedule 1 animal of Wildlife (protection) Act 1972. If he has got shooting orders from
the chief wild life warden twice separately specifying the area in which the big cat is
operating we can’t find fault with him. If he has done it only one order he can be found
fault. We have to find any human deaths reported in between,”
Mr Shafath Ali Khan said ,”Both are the man eaters. They are tracked and their
territorial range is mapped by forest officials. The claim of NGos and so called wild
life lovers if false and most of them have little knowledge. If I have shot a wrong
leopard why would the forest department gives me another order on 19th of August. I went
to the spot when all others including revenue and police failed to bring normalcy even
when kids are not able to go to school. If the man eaters are left out the desperate
villagers may have poisoned all the leopards. I have telescopic weapon and I shoot with
precision. The red triangle was marked by the forest department,”
The letter to Shafath Ali Khan of Red Hills in city on August 19th by Nachan Forest
division in Gohar district in Mandi reads ,”It has been detected that leopard has turned
man eater Thunag area falling in janjehli forest range killing three persons two women
and a man in the vicinity of thunag area and same was declared man eater by the HP Chief
Wild Life Warden. You are invited to trap the said leopard alive or eliminate with the
team of our forest officers at Thunag. Your stay and accommodation during the operation
period will be borne by the department,” In earlier letter on August 8th also same text
and same area was marked.
A plain reading of the 2 permits put up in your blog reveals that the permits have been issued simultaneously, post killing of the leopards at a later date to possibly manipulate justification of the killings.
ReplyDeleteThis is evident from the DFO’s letter dated 7.8.2013 to Nawab Shafat Ali Khan when only two human kills of two women had taken place (on 18th & 24th July) and yet the letter also refers to the third human kill of a man which actually took place 3 days later on 10th August 2013.
The language of both letters of DFO dated 7th and 19th August are identical except for the reference to correspondence of the PCCF & CF. If true, this is forgery as defined in the IPC.
Having shared my earlier comments on the permits issued to Mr Shafath Ali Khan I would like to analyse his comments.
ReplyDeleteHe justifies the killing of both animals by calling them maneaters, He states that “the claim of NGOs and so called wild life lovers is false and most of them have little knowledge” and that “they are tracked and their territorial range mapped by forest officials.
He claims to have a telescopic weapon which he shoots with precision. So far so good but do read what I have to say …..
I have been very actively involved in resolving over 40 Man-leopard conflict in the northern Indian states in as many years.
My interest evolved very early in life when I was taken by Late Col. Sher Jung, the Legendary shikari turned conservationist, avid hunter of maneating big cats, freedom fighter, sensitive painter, writer, also known as the Indian “Jim Corbet”.
On the request of the Forest Department of Himachal Pradesh. I had personally conducted the territorial determination and identification of the actual maneater from 26th July till 1st August. The actual maneater’s territory was limited to 3 forest beats viz Thunag, Rahkot & Nihari where all the human attack have taken place.
The first animal killed by Nawab Shafat was on the Jhanjeli Road 6 kms beyond the affected area and therefore could not have been the maneater.
The second animal killed was admittedly shot in the maneaters territory. However doubts arose reg the second animal killed, as a pair had been sighted and he shot the smaller adolescent male weighing 35 kgs.
It seemed that the larger female escaped. This was obviously not a mating pair but mother and cub.
Now I hear that on 26th a large leopard pounced on a goat at 10 am in view of all and took it away near Lehgala where the last human had been killed on 10th August.
It is my reasoned opinion that the first animal killed on 11th August was an innocent male leopard from the adjoining beat which I had deliberately ignored knowing it not to be the maneater.
I undertstand that the postportem also revealed that it was a healthy male leopard in its prime with no infirmities. The viscera though sent for checking human flesh as the real maneater had consumed its last human kill the same night. The viscera from the killed leopard visually seemed to have been dog meat.
The second male killed was adolescent weighing 35 kgs. While it could be assisting its mother in killing humans, it is a physical impossibility for it to kill adult humans let alone adult male humans.
It is apparent the hunters have liquidated any animal they came across on the search light from a moving vehicle without ascertaining its territory or it being a maneater.
The entire story now being propagated by them is a carefully orchestrated after thought. The classic example is manner in which the permits were issued,
Only experienced wild life experts who are conversant with wild cats can track the guilty animal down. Any trigger happy trophy hunter with a gun does not necessarily become an expert.