Arif Khan, the Amethi man who came into the limelight for his friendship with a Sarus crane and for taking care of it for more than a year, has received a notice from the Forest Department summoning him on April 4 at 11 a.m. to record his statement. Mr. Khan has been booked for violating the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. According to the notice sent on Saturday by Gauriganj’s Assistant Forest Officer (AFO), he has been asked to appear before Sub-Divisional Forest Officer Ranvir Mishra.
The Sarus crane, rescued by Mr. Khan at the Mandkha village of Amethi district would accompany him to his fields and was accepted “like a family member”, until March 21, when the Forest Department officials took the bird away, saying that it had been done with Mr. Khan’s consent, adding that the avian species falls under the vulnerable category and could not be “kept in captivity”. The Forest Department shifted the bird to the Samaspur sanctuary in Rae Bareli to allow it to live in its natural environment.
Mr. Khan rescued the injured and unconscious bird from his field last year, treating it at his home for more than two months. “After treatment, I thought it would fly away. We took him to the fields but the bird refused to leave us. He was like a family to me, eating and living together,” Mr. Khan told The Hindu.
A video of the Sarus crane following Mr. Khan as he rode his scooter and accompanying him to fields took social media by storm in February.
After the notice from the Forest Department was issued, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, who visited Mr. Khan’s house to witness the bonding between man and bird, attacked the State government, alleging that it was scared of Mr. Khan. “Arif did a very good job, helping an injured Sarus crane, treated and saved his life. After this, the bird became his friend. Instead of honouring Arif, they are scaring him. I went there to meet Arif and the Sarus crane, after which those in power got nervous. They want to scare Arif. It shows their dictatorial attitude,” Mr. Yadav said, adding that he had once tweeted a picture of an elephant walking on the expressway and the State Special Task Force sent the mahout to jail.
