A blackbuck or a 'Kala Hiran'--an animal considered revered by the Bishnoi community-- was found dead on Tuesday morning in a field near Barkheda Salam village, some 40 kilometres from Madhya Pradesh's capital Bhopal. The animal was found with a deep wound on its neck, raising suspicions that it was killed by poachers, according to a report by Free Press Journal.
As per the report, the Forest Department received the information about the dead animal on Tuesday morning. Upon their arrival, they found the carcass with a deep neck wound among other injuries, which was believed to be 15-20 hours old.
The body of the blackbuck was taken to the veterinary hospital at Jail Pahadi in Bhopal, where a team of Forest Department's vets conducted its post-mortem examination, a report of which would be made available within the next three days.
The initial finding of Forest Department officials suggests that the blackbuck was likely shot at night, but the developments will be confirmed after the post-mortem comes. Meanwhile, the forest department has cremated the animal's remains.
Blackbuck, a medium-sized antelope found in low grass plains in India and Nepal, is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and its hunting and poaching are prohibited.
As the animal holds religious sentiments in several Indian communities, the Forest Department officials are maintaining secrecy over the matter till a probe is underway in the case. This is the second case in six months where the protected animal was found dead in Bhopal. About five months ago, the carcass of a pregnant blackbuck was discovered near the Forest Department’s rest house in Bishan Khedi.
Recently, the Blackbuck was in the limelight after the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, a syndicate headed by Lawrence Bishnoi who hailed from the Bishnoi community, fired shots at Bollywood actor Salman Khan's house, who allegedly hunted a blackbuck in 1998 in Rajasthan's Jodhpur during the shooting of "Hum Sath Sath Hain" film.