Hyderabad: Hyderabad Police rescued four palapittas, the Indian roller and Telangana’s state bird, from cages near temples during Dasara. Around the same time, a video of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud freeing a caged palapitta at a festival event drew criticism.
Hyderabad City Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar said in a post on X that police acted on tip-offs from citizens and raided three locations. Two birds were found in cramped cages near a temple at Langarhouse Bapughat and were handed over to forest officials at KBR Park. A third, tied to a cage hanging from a tree near the Chatrinaka Sri Chitragupta Swamy Temple, and a fourth, kept in a cage near the Mangalhat Balajinagar Temple, were also rescued and handed to forest officials. No arrests were mentioned in the post.
Sajjanar said strict legal action was being taken against those responsible in coordination with the forest department. Police had earlier warned that harming animals would invite action under the law, he said, but some people ignored the warning.
He alleged the birds were deprived of food and water and tortured in the name of the festival. “True devotion means compassion for all living beings, not imprisoning nature,” he said. He urged people not to encourage practices that rob animals of their freedom and open the door to hunting for money.
Goud, who is also a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC), is seen in a video circulating on social media releasing a palapitta that had been brought to the venue in a cage. The event was a Ravana Dahan programme held on a large scale in Uppal, Hyderabad, which he attended with his wife.
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