5 arrested for entering wild boar enclosure in Vizag Zoo

Updated Date: 8/1/2022

Category: vizag news

The Vizag City Police arrested 5 young men on Saturday for entering a wild boar enclosure at the Indira Gandi Zoological Park aka the Vizag Zoo and uploading a video teasing the animal on the internet.  

The three men identified through their social media handles reportedly entered the paddock area of the wild boar and recorded a video on 3 July 2022. The Vizag Zoo officials who encountered the tagged video after it went viral registered a complaint with the city police on 12 July 2022 under the Wildlife Protection Act against the unidentified individuals under section 38-J for teasing zoo animals. 

A 15-second video was recorded and uploaded by a profile named ‘lovely sai ganesh’. The arrested were identified as residents of Marikavalasa and between the ages of 19 and 21. 

According to the police, the three men entered the enclosure and attempted to scare the wild boar by hitting it. When it tried to fight back, they jumped off the parapet wall of the enclosure and ran for safety. The youth risked their lives for the sake of social media attention, say the police. The zoo authorities have reported that this is a first-of-its-kind incident at the Vizag Zoo. 

Zoo curator Nandhini Sularia said that the zoo is being monitored with 54 CCTV cameras and that the animal keeper was either cleaning or cutting feed while the incident occurred. The Arilova Police have arrested all the five accused who have been sent to remand.