Overview
- The Environment Ministry ordered an inquiry and dispatched a team to the National Zoological Park on Tuesday.
- The National Zoo Workers’ Union alleges staff used chilli powder and lit a fire inside a Himalayan black bear’s burrow to kill an escaped jackal.
- The complaint says the body was recovered two days later and disposed of without veterinary intimation or a mandatory post-mortem.
- Zoo director Sanjeet Kumar says no such incident was reported internally, maintains jackal counts match records, and has asked the Joint Director to examine the allegation.
- Joint Director Nair Vishnuraj Narendran says he will begin the inquiry upon returning from Haldwani, while the union seeks an independent probe, staff suspensions, and preservation of CCTV footage.