Five held for harassing Girnar lions, clicking videos

Five persons were arrested on Monday for allegedly "harassing and disturbing" a pride of lions inside the Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary near Junagadh by clicking their photos and videos last week, a Gujarat forest official said.

The men came under the scanner of the Forest department after some of them shared videos and photographs of their act on social media, said Deputy Conservator of Forest, S K Berwal.

"These men had entered the sanctuary area on September 2 on their vehicles and started harassing some lions resting along the roadside. Their act of mischief disturbed the big cats. They even clicked photos and circulated videos on social media," he said, adding that a case has been registered under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act.

The accused are identified as Rasheed Hala, Shahrukh Theba, Nilesh Makwana, Dipak Chavda and Jelamsinh Bhati-- all residents of different villages situated near the sanctuary, spread across 178 sq kms around the Girnar hills in Junagadh district.