Ghaziabad forest dept’s deputy ranger fined ₹99,000 after leopard trap vanishes

The department later decided not to charge the deputy ranger after he replaced the missing cage with a new one

The Ghaziabad divisional forest department recently discovered that one of the two cages in its inventory meant for trapping leopards had disappeared, following which it issued a notice to the deputy ranger in whose custody the cage was kept to pay up ₹99,000 – the cost of the missing cage, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The forest department places leopard cages in villages and other dense forest areas when they receive calls about leopard sightings. (HT Archive)

However, the department later decided not to charge the deputy ranger after he replaced the missing cage with a new one.

The missing cage was placed in the jungles of Sadarpur in June 2022 to trap a leopard, officials said. When the department conducted a verification of its stock recently, it found that the cage was missing, officials added.

“The cage was last seen last year when it was placed to trap a leopard. However, after the recent stock verification, the deputy ranger in charge of the cage could not determine where it was placed, whether near the ordinance factory, the Hindon airbase, or a village. So, we issued him a notice to pay ₹99,000. But he filed an application requesting that he be not charged monetarily. Instead, he proposed to get a new cage constructed and give it to the department. His request was accepted, and he handed over the new cage to us recently,” said Manish Singh, divisional forest officer (DFO).

DFO Singh added that the forest department is planning to file a first information report in the case because it is suspected that the old cage was placed in an open area and unidentified people stole it.

Officials said the missing cage was heavy and could be lifted by only eight to ten people, who would place it on a transport vehicle that would take it to a place of a suspected leopard sighting.

Leopard sightings are common in Ghaziabad. Officials said they place leopard cages in villages and other dense forest areas when they receive calls about leopard sightings.

On July 2, an adult leopard entered the Ghaziabad court complex and injured at least ten people before it was captured and released into the Saharanpur forest.

On January 18, an adult leopard was killed by an unidentified speeding vehicle on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway near Bhojpur.

On May 21, a forest department team captured a leopard hiding in a big pipeline at Chudiyala near Modinagar. It was later released in the Saharanpur forest.