Illegal forest safari: Two men remanded in forest dept's custody

Amreli (Gujarat), July 11 (PTI) A court remanded two men to the custody of the forest department after a group of youths allegedly entered a forest area for an illegal lion sighting in Amreli district of Gujarat, resulting in the death of one of them in the attack by a big cat, officials said on Saturday. Sohail Munjawar, a resident of Amreli, was mauled to death by a lion on Wednesday in the Antaliya revenue area after he and his friends allegedly disturbed a pair of mating lions. "The forest department's investigation found that three persons, including the deceased, harassed the lion," said Liliya Range Forest Officer (RFO) Vatsal Pandya. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. During questioning, Yashrajsinh Rathod and Rehan Pathan allegedly admitted that they had gone to the area illegally and disturbed lions, Pandya said. The official said the accused duo had destroyed data from their mobile phones. The devices have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination. They were produced before a court, which remanded them in the custody of the forest department for two days. PTI KVM PD NSK