Despite claims by several eye-witnesses that the youth – named Maqsood (20) – accidentally fell into the enclosure, zoo authorities claimed that he crossed the stand-off barrier of the tiger enclosure and jumped into it. ‘He was warned by a security guard twice who noticed him trying to cross the barrier.
But when the guard turned his attention towards some other visitors, he crossed the barrier and jumped across the moat of the enclosure landing 18 feet below,’ said a zoo official.
Maksood was a Class 12 student in a government school and resided in north Delhi’s Anand Parvat area. He was mentally challenged and was living on medication for the past four years. On Tuesday, he went to the zoo alone. ‘In the morning, he left home telling his parents that he was going out for some work and would come back after lunch,’ said a police official.
When Maksood landed in the enclosure, the tiger didn’t attack him immediately. It was looked confused and approached him cautiously. By that time, a large number of visitors had gathered near the enclosure and started screaming and hurling stones to divert the beast’s attention, said an eye-witness.
Another eye-witness said: ‘When the tiger attacked his face with its paw, the youth was too terrified to run or make any move and he started pleading in front of the animal. After sometime, the tiger got hold of his neck, and dragged him towards its cage. Maqsood died on the spot.’ The entire incident took place within seven to ten minutes and no security guard or special officials could rescue the youth.
‘An alarm was raised immediately when the youth landed in the tiger’s enclosure, and an official was asked to reach the spot with tranquilizers. By that time, the guards stationed near the concerned enclosure was asked to divert the beast’s attention. But the time was too short for the rescue operation to be carried out successfully,’ said RA Khan, PRO of Delhi Zoo.
He said the enclosures were safe for visitors and that they strictly adhere to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) guidelines. It took more than one hour for the zoo authorities to recover the body.
The authorities informed the police immediately and the boy was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared ‘brought dead’. His body was then sent for a postmortem examination.
The seven-year-old white tiger, named Vijay, weighs more than 180 kgs and it shares the enclosure with two other white tigers. However, only one tiger is allowed to roam free at a time within the 1000-odd square feet hexagonal enclosure, said a zoo official. ‘This is the first time in Delhi zoo that a person has been killed by an animal,’ he added.
But when the guard turned his attention towards some other visitors, he crossed the barrier and jumped across the moat of the enclosure landing 18 feet below,’ said a zoo official.
Maksood was a Class 12 student in a government school and resided in north Delhi’s Anand Parvat area. He was mentally challenged and was living on medication for the past four years. On Tuesday, he went to the zoo alone. ‘In the morning, he left home telling his parents that he was going out for some work and would come back after lunch,’ said a police official.
When Maksood landed in the enclosure, the tiger didn’t attack him immediately. It was looked confused and approached him cautiously. By that time, a large number of visitors had gathered near the enclosure and started screaming and hurling stones to divert the beast’s attention, said an eye-witness.
Another eye-witness said: ‘When the tiger attacked his face with its paw, the youth was too terrified to run or make any move and he started pleading in front of the animal. After sometime, the tiger got hold of his neck, and dragged him towards its cage. Maqsood died on the spot.’ The entire incident took place within seven to ten minutes and no security guard or special officials could rescue the youth.
‘An alarm was raised immediately when the youth landed in the tiger’s enclosure, and an official was asked to reach the spot with tranquilizers. By that time, the guards stationed near the concerned enclosure was asked to divert the beast’s attention. But the time was too short for the rescue operation to be carried out successfully,’ said RA Khan, PRO of Delhi Zoo.
He said the enclosures were safe for visitors and that they strictly adhere to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) guidelines. It took more than one hour for the zoo authorities to recover the body.
The authorities informed the police immediately and the boy was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared ‘brought dead’. His body was then sent for a postmortem examination.
The seven-year-old white tiger, named Vijay, weighs more than 180 kgs and it shares the enclosure with two other white tigers. However, only one tiger is allowed to roam free at a time within the 1000-odd square feet hexagonal enclosure, said a zoo official. ‘This is the first time in Delhi zoo that a person has been killed by an animal,’ he added.