Prahalad Gurjar : “Rajasthan Man’s Fatal Encounter: Lion Escape at Tirupati Zoo”

TIRUPATI: A 38-year-old man from Rajasthan identified as Prahalad Gurjar jumped into a lion enclosure at Sri Venkateswara zoological park in Tirupati and was tragically mauled to death by a 12-year-old lion on Thursday afternoon.

The incident occurred when Prahalad, who appeared to be in an inebriated state, managed to sneak into the no-entry area near the lion enclosure. He climbed on top of a water tank and suddenly jumped into the lion enclosure.

The animal watcher on duty shouted at Prahalad, warning him not to jump into the enclosure, but unfortunately, it was too late.

Prahalad jumped into the enclosure around 2:30 pm. Within 10 minutes, the lion dragged him to a corner of the enclosure and mauled him to death.

As soon as the incident occurred, the zoo authorities swiftly shifted the lion into the lion night house located outside the enclosure.

The watcher alerted the zoo authorities, who then informed the police at around 2:45 pm. The police immediately rushed to the zoo and conducted an investigation.

During the investigation, the police found Prahalad’s Aadhar card, a bus ticket, and a slip with some phone numbers. With the help of this information, they were able to identify Prahalad and inform his family members about his tragic demise.

Prahalad Gurjar, a native of Turana village in Bansur Tahsil of Alwar district in Rajasthan, worked as a driver. He had left home about two months ago and boarded a bus in Hyderabad to reach Tirupati on February 13.

According to the police, Prahalad had apparently visited SV Zoo Park earlier in the day and had purchased an entry ticket. However, he later sneaked into the unauthorized restricted area and reached the lion enclosure, where he tragically jumped into it by climbing a water tank.

The curator of SV zoo, C Selvam, stated that this was the first time such an incident had been reported at the zoo. The zoo houses three lions brought from Dungarpur in Gujarat. While two lions are caged throughout the day, one lion is released into the enclosure daily for visitors to see.

Despite the warnings from the watcher on duty, Prahalad intentionally approached the enclosure, which had a four-foot wall and a six-foot-tall iron fence. He ignored the warnings and jumped into the enclosure, resulting in his untimely death by the lion.