The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) Bengal wing has filed a petition at the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court, challenging the forest department’s decision to allegedly house a lion named ‘Akbar’ with a lioness named ‘Sita’ in the same enclosure at Siliguri’s Safari Park.
According to a report in LiveLaw, the petition was brought before the bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya on February 16, and has been scheduled for a hearing on February 20.
The VHP, in its plea, stated that it was a ‘direct assault’ on the religious beliefs of all Hindus and could be considered blasphemy.
“Vishwa Hindu Parishad has with deep anguish observed that a species of cat family has been named after the name of “SITA” the consort of Lord Ram and she is a sacred deity to all Hindus across the world. Such act amounts to blasphemy and is a direct assault on the religious belief of all Hindus,” the plea stated.
“That to the utmost surprise of the petitioners on 14/02/2024 Uttar Banga Sambad carried a news item with the heading “Sangir khoje astir Sita” (Sita restless in search of a partner). Incidentally, the male lion was given the name of “Akbar”. The said article and indicated in a lewd way and represented the news in a much objection manner which was bound to hurt the religious sentiments of all Hindus across the country,” the plea added.
The VHP alleged that the state’s forest department had named the lions and requested a change in the name ‘Sita’.
As stated in the report, the two large felines were recently transferred from Sepahijala Zoological Park in Tripura. Forest officials have asserted that they did not rename the lions and mentioned that the big cats had already been given names before their arrival on February 13.
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