Kolkata: The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) told the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday that it has started an inquiry into alleged irregularities in animal records at the Alipore Zoological Garden.
Appearing for the CZA, Additional Solicitor General Ashok Kumar Chakraborty informed the Division Bench of Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Smita Das De that the investigation is in progress and a report should be ready within two weeks. The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on September 1.
During the proceedings on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), petitioners’ counsel Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya alleged that moves were underway to sell zoo land in violation of the Forest Act.
He told the court that a first tender for the land had failed to attract bids, after which a second was issued. In July, a three-member CZA inspection team visited the zoo to conduct an audit, verify animal inventory records, and review documentation on animal transfers. The state Forest department has also initiated a separate investigation. Around the same time, zoo director Arun Mukherjee was reassigned to the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling, which officials described as a standard transfer.
A city-based voluntary group has claimed that 321 animals are unaccounted for in the zoo’s records over the past financial year. It said official figures listed 672 animals in 2023–2024, but only 351 in 2024–2025. The petition alleges such mismatches have occurred repeatedly over the last 30 years and requests that the court oversee the probe.
State Forest department representatives have denied wrongdoing, asserting that the zoo’s figures submitted to the CZA were correct.
They attributed the discrepancy to an error in the central records and said a request for correction has been made.