Youth nabbed for holding illegal ‘Simh Darshan’ (lion viewing) in Gir forest of Gujarat

Junagadh: The forest department has nabbed a youth for illegally taking tourists in the Gir forest for showing them Asiatic lions.

A forest official today said that Ashish B Agrawat (28), a resident of Talala in Gir Somnath district, used to take money from tourists to take them inside the jungle, which was the sole abode of Asiatic lions, to show them the big cats.

‘Recently he had taken Rs one thousand each from a group of tourists to take them to the forest between Bherana and Mandor where he had tied some animal to attract lions. When a team of forest department from Verval reached the spot, he and the tourists somehow managed to escape,’ the official said.

On a tip off Ahsish was nabbed from a hotel in Talala today where he was staying in search of tourists. He has admitted his crime and also informed that others were also involved in this kind of illegal ‘Simh Darshan’ venture.

Notably, the forest department organized a very popular lion safari on open jeepsy from Sasan during non-monsoon period around the year which is famous as Simh Darshan among tourists,

The nabbed youth told that he and others like him used to lure people by saying that they would take them to those parts of the jungles where lions could be seen in more natural manner. They also used to say that the official Simh Darshan route was not as adventurous at theirs.

The official said that regular raids were being conducted to check such illegal and dangerous activities in the forest spread in over 1400 sq km in three districts of Saurashtra region of Gujarat ie Junagadh, Gir Somnath and Amreli.

DeshGujarat