Mentally-unstable man jumps inside lion enclosure in Delhi zoo, escapes unhurt

New Delhi: A 25-year-old mentally-unstable man leapt into the enclosure of a lion at the Delhi zoo on Thursday, came face to face with the big cat and moved around unfazed over the lurking danger before the zoo staff rescued him after tranquillising the animal.

The incident brought back the dreadful memories of a 2014 episode when a white tiger mauled a man to death after he had jumped inside its enclosure in the Delhi zoo. The incident had hit the headlines world over, prompting the zoo authorities to revisit its security measures.

Thursday noon, Rehan Khan, who hails from Bihar's East Champaran district and currently resides in Delhi's Seelampur area, jumped around 20 feet down into the moat, walked up to the lion and casually sat in front of it. All of this happened within a few seconds, a zoo official said.

Delhi zoo curator and spokesperson Riyaz Khan said the security personnel tried to stop the man, but before they could get hold of him, he jumped into the moat.

"Delhi zoo security officer Rohit Kumar, Range Officer Saurabh Vashishtha were among the first ones to respond to the situation. Zoo Director Renu Singh supervised the rescue operation that lasted around 15 minutes," another official said.

"Our rapid response team of 10 officials tranquillised the lion from outside before entering the enclosure and rescued the man," Riyaz Khan said.

"When we tried to rescue Rehan, he ran into the moat," he said.

The security personnel maintain tight vigil round-the-clock, he claimed, adding that this cannot be regarded as a case of a security breach.

"Keeping the animal inside a cage is not a solution when people deliberately do such things," he added.

Curiously, the lion didn't attack the man even though it was on an empty stomach when the incident occurred. The lion is given food at 5 pm every day when it retreats to its cage, the official said.