NEW DELHI: Protocol that was reserved for the funerals of martyred Army personnel and national figures till now, has been extended to the national bird now.
On Friday, the Delhi Police swathed the dead remains of a peacock in tricolor before burying it. The cops had rescued the peacock(schedule-I) outside the high court lying on the road, but the bird after struggling hard for its life, ultimately succumbed to its injuries.
Police said that they were simply following “protocol” as being India’s national bird it demanded the respect. They further added, “We gave it the full honor and buried it with a tricolor as it is our national bird.”
Officer at the Tilak Marg police station said: “This is protocol and we will follow in the future if another such peacock comes in our custody.”
On Friday the police station had received a call informing that an injured peacock was lying on road in front of gate number five of Delhi high court. The bird was immediately taken to the Jain Bird Hospital in Chandni Chowk, where the vet declared it to be brought dead. According to sources cops, then took the bird to a hospital in south Delhi, for postmortem and conducted a burial in the presence of a forest official.
The officer said that the cause of the death is still as known as the postmortem report will come next week, but there are speculations that peacock may have got injured after falling from a tree.
Although there is no existence of such protocol and the activity may have been in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which states that schedule I animals found dead are state’s property and their a burial or cremation are to be carried out by the forest department after a postmortem to ensure no parts are smuggled.
