An injured civet that was being chased by dogs inside a New Town park, was rescued by a group of residents on Monday afternoon.
A group of residents from the BA Block in New Town’s Action Area I were busy with a tree plantation drive inside the Sonar Kella-themed park in the block when they heard dogs barking inside the playground across the road.
Tapan Kumar Ghoshal, a member of the group, said that they were planting saplings inside the park when they heard the dogs barking loudly and rushed out of the park.
“We thought that a dog might have been hit by a vehicle. As we stepped out we saw some dogs chasing a black animal,” said Ghoshal.
The group managed to scare away the strays.
By then the animal that was being chased had collapsed on the ground.
The residents could not recognise the animal — a Common Palm Civet — and some of them sprinkled water on it as they thought that it had died.
“There were injury marks all over its body and we could not figure out what to do with it,” Ghoshal added.
Ghoshal then got in touch with New Town resident Biswajit Majumder who inturn called up the forest department’s Wild Animal Rescue and Transit Facility in Salt Lake.
A team from the facility in Baisakhi reached the area and took the civet with them.
The team members identified the animal as a Common Palm Civet.
“It seems that the civet had been cornered and beaten up with sticks before it managed to flee and then it got attacked by the dogs. We have started treating it and the animal is responding to treatment,” the veterinarian at the forest department’s rescue centre in Salt Lake told The Telegraph.
Civets are found across the city and are harmless but evoke fear among some people.
Common Palm Civet and Small Indian Civet are the two kinds found in Kolkata. They are dark-coloured, nocturnal animals that can easily scale multi-storeyed buildings.
“The sight of a civet at night often evokes fear among urban people but in reality, these are shy animals and seldom attack people unless provoked,” said the official.
Cash-haul cuffs on trader
New Alipore businessman Rajesh Agarwal was arrested after he allegedly failed to explain the source of Rs 1.03 crore that was found in his car on Park Street on Monday afternoon.
The car was intercepted by the detective department and the Special Task Force of the city police.
The police said Rs 500 notes formed the bulk of the cash. The money was kept in a bag in the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz.
A case has been registered under Section 379 of the IPC, which deals with theft, at Park Street police station.
The police said Agrawal, 49, was arrested after he failed to give a satisfactory answer to queries about where the money was headed and for what purpose.
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