Tripura Forest Official Suspended After Naming Lion Pair ‘Akbar and Sita’

The Tripura government has suspended its chief conservator of forests (wildlife and ecotourism) after a controversy arose over the names given to a lion and lioness relocated to West Bengal.

On Feb. 12, the lion and lioness were transferred from Tripura's Sepahijala Zoo to the North Bengal Wildlife Park in Siliguri as part of an animal exchange program. During the transfer process, their names were recorded in the dispatch register as Akbar and Sita, sparking controversy.

Praveen Lal Agarwal, a 1994-batch Indian Forest Service officer who served as Tripura's chief conservator of forests (wildlife and ecotourism), was suspended following a petition filed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the Calcutta High Court. The VHP alleged that naming the animals Akbar and Sita, two figures with religious significance, hurt their religious sentiments.

On Feb. 21, the VHP's West Bengal unit filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Jalpaiguri circuit bench of the Calcutta High Court. The court subsequently ordered the names of the lion and lioness to be changed.

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