The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court against the West Bengal forest department’s decision to house a lion named ‘Akbar’ with a lioness named ‘Sita’ in the same enclosure at Siliguri’s Safari Park. The Bengal branch of the VHP has brought the issue to the attention of the Calcutta High Court’s circuit bench in Jalpaiguri on February 16. The case is scheduled for a hearing on February 20th (Tuesday).

The case includes the state’s forest department authorities and the director of Bengal’s Safari Park as parties.

In response to the controversy, the forest department clarified that the lions were recently transferred from the Sepahijala Zoological Park in Tripura and were not given new names upon their arrival at the Safari Park on February 13.

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The right-wing group is upset because ‘Akbar’ refers to a Mughal emperor, while ‘Sita’ is a character in Valmiki’s ‘Ramayan’ and is revered as a Hindu deity.
According to reports, the VHP has argued that the state’s forest department named the lions, and pairing ‘Sita’ with ‘Akbar’ was seen as disrespectful to Hindus. The organization has called for a change in the lioness’s name.

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