The nation asks for the minister who broke the rules and teased a tiger in its cage should be prosecuted.
Any person who contravenes section 38 of the Act shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term upto 6 months or a fine of upto Rs 2,000. So, what about Mr Thorat.
An act of bravado that has now landed the Maharashtra agriculture minister Balasaheb Thorat in trouble.
The minister egged on by his supporters had entered a cage in Nagpur to pet the tiger cub.
Environmentalists are enraged and say that his action has caused trauma to the caged animal and it does not end there for Thorat.
"The zoo director had not right to allow the minister to come and play with the tiger cub. I have no doubt that this is a violation of law. Definitely a violation of the code of conduct," said Minister of Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh.
The Centre has ordered an inquiry which is expected in the next few days.
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