3 leopards found dead in Himachal apple orchard near Shimla were poisoned, says autopsy report; FIR lodged
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TNR Desk
Three leopards that were found dead under mysterious circumstances in Dansa panchayat under the Rampur forest division of Shimla district in Himachal Pradesh on March 8 (2024) were poisoned to death. The revelation came to light through the postmortem examination conducted on the deceased animals, which confirmed the cause of death to be pesticide poisoning.
Lachhami Chand, a resident of Jaguni village of Dansa, had spotted an injured leopard near his house. Upon receiving the information, the forest department’s rescue team rushed to the scene. By the time the forest officials arrived, the leopard had died. The carcass of two more leopards were found about 100 metres away.
The forest department took the bodies of the leopards into its possession and sent these to the veterinary hospital at Rampur for postmortem examination. A video of the leopard writhing in agony had gone viral on social media, indicative of the poisoning. The pesticide used for poisoning is known as organophosphorus.
An FIR has been registered at the Rampur police station against unidentified persons and an investigation is underway. Among the perished animals were a two-and-a-half-year-old female leopard and two eight-month-old cubs. All three leopards were discovered within an apple orchard, suggesting a possible connection to agricultural activities in the region.
According to forest officials, no physical wounds were found on the bodies of the animals. The presence of a pesticide container at the scene further corroborated suspicions of deliberate poisoning. The incident had followed a similar case reported near Shalun Kainchi in Rampur recently. Leopards are often hunted and their skin, teeth and nails used in various traditional practices.
