Arunachal Pradesh Environment and Forest Minister Mama Natung has directed PCCF and Principal Secretary (E&F) RK Singh to conduct an inquiry into the death of zoo attendant Poulash Karmakar and submit the findings within a week.
According to the zoo authority, Karmakar died after being mauled by a Royal Bengal tigress, when he entered the tigress’ cage to clean the pond water on Tuesday.
Natung, accompanied by Singh and PCCF (Wildlife) G Kumar, visited the Itanagar Biological Park on Wednesday to take stock of the situation. While offering condolences to the bereaved family, the minister assured to provide contingent employment to one of the dependents of the deceased, apart from granting ex-gratia payment as per the government norms.
Deepest condolences to the bereaved family of late Poulash Karmakar, mauled by a Tigress yesterday at Biological Park, #Itanagar. Visited the zoo to take stock. Govt. will duly compensate for the irreparable loss. Prayers for the departed soul💐💐 @ArunachalCMO @ArunForests pic.twitter.com/vlPxEE2lTG
— Mama Natung (@NatungMama) May 19, 2021
He visited the cage where the incident occurred, interacted and inquired with the zoo officials, particularly with the animal attendants in length.
The minister observed that the incident could be a case of negligence on the part of Karmakar. However, he directed the PCCF & Principal Secretary (E&F) to constitute a five member committee and submit the fact finding report within a week for submission to the state government.