The man was mauled on September 23, 2014.
Giving a clean chit to zoo authorities four years after a white tiger, Vijay, mauled a 22-year-old inside the Delhi Zoo, the Delhi Police have filed an “untraced report” before a Delhi court, which states that they have not found any lapses on the part of zoo authorities, and that the viscera report establishes that the youth was inebriated.
Sources told The Sunday Express that the investigation officer (IO) recently received the viscera report from the forensic science laboratory, which states that the victim, Maqsood, had alcohol in his system. “Police found that he had left his home in Anand Parbat around 8.30 am after taking Rs 100 from his mother. He told her he was going to work at a factory, but instead went to the zoo after consuming liquor,” police sources claimed.
Police said Maqsood’s father had initially told them the boy was “mentally disturbed”, though he did not show any medical documents to support this claim.
“Police submitted the untraced report before a Delhi court, saying they have not found negligence on part of the zoo. Now the court will decide,” said a senior police officer.
Hours after the incident on September 23, 2014, a case under IPC Section 304A (causing death due to negligence) had been registered at Hazrat Nizamuddin police station, with initial investigation suggesting negligence by zoo authorities.
Police had questioned the security guard, Praveen Kumar, on why the tranquilliser gun, generally used to sedate animals in such emergencies, was not used.
“Kumar told police he was carrying a walkie talkie and a whistle at the time of the incident. He sent a message on it, after which zoo authorities tried to distract the tiger, but could not use the tranquilliser. Police then questioned zoo authorities, who told them the gun was kept in the doctor’s room, but since the doctor was out on some personal work, it could not be accessed,” police sources said.
According to guidelines, the height of the moat in an enclosure of a terrestrial animal should be 7.5 metres and the depth should be 5 metres. “Police had initially found that the height in the tiger’s moat was 4.4 metres but authorities later established it was 6.06 metres,” police sources said.
During investigation, zoo officials claimed Maqsood crossed the iron fence and jumped into the enclosure. They told police that he jumped over the security barrier despite being warned by the guard.
The then zoo director Amitabh Agnihotri had said that “all the enclosures of the Delhi zoo are absolutely safe”.
“No visitor can reach the moat wall of the enclosure without crossing the standoff barrier. This visitor crossed the standoff barrier and ultimately jumped into the enclosure, which led to his death,” his statement read.