Anantnag: A gruesome video wherein some people can be seen skinning a dead leopard somewhere in Kulgam district of south Kashmir has gone viral on the social media platforms in Kashmir.

Several people including women can be seen assembled around the dead leopard while two of them are skinning the animal in one minute 53 second video. The exact location of the site could not be confirmed but captions in the video suggest that it has been shot somewhere in Noorabad area of the district.

Superintendent of Police Kulgam, Gurinder Singh told Kashmir Reader that cognizance has been taken into the matter. “We will be releasing a press note regarding it later in the day. The matter is being investigated,” he said.

It remains unclear whether the animal was killed by the people or died a natural death. Local sources, however, reveal that the animal was killed by the people and later skinned.

“We are, however, still investigating the matter and it will come to fore soon whether the leopard was killed or it died,” an official of the wildlife department said.

This, however, is not the first time that a video from Kashmir depicting cruelty against animals has surfaced on the social media. Few of years ago another such video had surfaced on the internet where a bear could be seen trapped in a tree while people set the tree on fire.

That video was also from south Kashmir.

Amid the lockdown, several incidents of wild animals venturing into residential areas have been reported from across the world. Here in Kashmir a leopard was recently captured by the wildlife department in Pulwama district after it ventured into the residential area.

Suhail A Shah