The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has taken legal action against the naming of a lioness as “Sita” and a male lion as “Akbar” at the North Bengal Wild Animals Park in Siliguri, moving the Circuit Bench of Calcutta High Court in Jalpaiguri district.
The controversy arose after the two big cats were brought from Tripura’s Sepahijala Zoo as part of an animal exchange programme on February 12.
In a writ petition of the VHP criticised the names as “irrational,” “illogical,” and “tantamount to blasphemy,” arguing that they hurt religious sentiments. The hearing is set for February 20 before Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya.
Officials confirmed that the lions, named Akbar and Sita, are currently housed separately in Siliguri and are expected to be displayed together in two months.
The animals were exchanged between Tripura’s Sepahijala Zoo and the North Bengal Wildlife Park, with the latter receiving a lion and lioness named Ram and Sita.
However, officials from Sepahijala Zoo clarified that codes rather than names identify animals and that records indicate the lions were named Ram and Sita.
This exchange programme marks the first of its kind in the last 10 years for Sepahijala Zoo and Wildlife Sanctuary, the oldest and largest zoo and sanctuary in Tripura.