In danger zone: A black buck

New Delhi, Nov. 22: The Jama Masjid is at the centre of a controversy with the Wildlife Trust of India claiming that two black bucks it had photographed in a garden within the mosque complex have gone missing.

Officials of the non-government organisation said they had found two of the animals tied like cattle inside the complex, though black bucks are an endangered species and no one is allowed to keep them in captivity.

Ashok Kumar, an adviser and trustee of the organisation, said he learnt about the black bucks allegedly being kept in captivity around mid-August. A few days later, he procured photographs of the animals tied up in the garden behind Jama Masjid.

On August 29, wildlife activists attempted to raid the Jannat-e-Nishan building in the Jama Masjid complex to rescue the animals, but were not allowed to enter the complex. The raiding party included officials of the trust, the chief wildlife warden of Delhi and the Union environment ministry?s director of wildlife protection, the trust said.

The trust then encouraged Pradeep Gupta, a resident of the area, to file a public interest litigation in Delhi High Court in the first week of September. The petition alleged that an uncertain number of black bucks and other protected animals were being kept in captivity in the building, which is a public wakf under the Delhi Wakf Board of the state government.

On September 22, the court sent a notice to the Delhi government to file a reply to the petition. The next hearing is scheduled for December 12.

The trust?s adviser said he had informed the authorities about the animals but they did not take any steps to rescue them.

?We had gone there with our officers and wildlife officials from Delhi and wanted to rescue the animals. But we did not get any support from the police and were not allowed to enter the premises,? he said. ?However, we managed to send some of our boys inside. They took photographs of the animals.?

The Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, rubbished the allegation. Bukhari said either the photographs of the bucks were computer-generated or ?some people may have just tied them in the park there?. He also claimed that there was no attempt to raid the Jannat-e-Nishan.

?The raid never happened. The wildlife officials never came. They are just using some computer-generated photographs to show as if the bucks were there. The issue is becoming hot just because Id has just gone by. You can speak to the local police. The police station is right next to the building,? he said.

Delhi police, under the Wildlife Protection Act, enjoy independent powers to search and seize protected animals from places of illegal captivity.

Police officials said they did not have advance knowledge of the raid and thus were unable to provide support.

The local police station also claimed there were never any animals in the complex. ?There were no animals there. The wildlife officials had come to search for the animals, but there was nothing. We have already told them,? said Giriraj Singh, the station house officer of the Jama Masjid police station.