Miscreants have slaughtered and eaten the only spotted deer at the mini zoo inside Madhutila Eco Park, in the Garo hills of Nalitabari upazila, Sherpur. The forest department has found that seven or eight people were involved; it has detained one and recovered the slaughtered deer's hide.

The deer was slaughtered on the night of Sunday (28 May). A man named Badsha Mia (35) was detained and handed over to a Sherpur court on Tuesday (30 May).

According to the forest department and local sources, there were two deer at the park's mini zoo. Some time ago parts of the carcass of one were found inside the park, and forest officials later said that deer had been eaten by jackals.

The sources said some miscreants from the Batkuchi Namapara area stole the zoo's remaining spotted deer on Sunday night, slaughtered it and shared out the meat. Forest department staff noticed early on Monday and began an investigation.

That morning Badsha Mia, son of Jahed Ali of the same village, was detained at Batkuchi bazar. Acting on his confession during questioning, officials recovered the deer's hide from his pond.

According to the forest department, the adult deer weighed more than 50 kg. Madhutila range officer Rafiqul Islam has filed a case over the incident, and Badsha has been sent to court in Sherpur.

Confirming the incident, Rafiqul Islam said seven or eight people were found to have been involved in slaughtering the deer and they would be brought to justice.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.