Nation Briefs

Leopard escapes from quarantine facility near Pune zoo; captured

Pune: A male leopard escaped from a quarantine center near a Pune zoo, triggering a large-scale search operation involving over 100 personnel. The seven-and-a-half-year-old big cat is suspected to have broken free by bending a cage bar. After about 40 hours, it was captured in a trap cage baited with chicken. The multi-team effort, which included the use of thermal drone cameras, concluded successfully. The leopard, recently transferred from a zoo in Karnataka, is reported to be in good health. During the operation, the zoo remained closed to the public for safety reasons.

Man sentenced to life imprisonment for rape

Bulandshahr: A special court convicted a man in a case of rape and unlawful religious conversion of a Dalit woman and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court of Special Judge (SC/ST Act) Vijay Pal also imposed a fine of Rs 4.06 lakh on Anees Ahmad, Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) Rakesh Kumar Mishra said. He said that Ahmed, a resident of Hapur district, raped the woman on several occasions on false promises of marriage in 2022 and also made her convert to Islam. A case was registered against Ahmad under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.