RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s dream of watching dancing peacocks at home has remained unfulfilled with the birds jumping off the boundary of his official bungalow in Patna and flying away, ignoring huge contingent of security staffs.
This happened barely hours after a pair of peacocks was brought to his bungalow in the weekend to bring “good luck” in the family battling health problems.
The RJD chief himself revealed the secret last evening saying none of two peacocks are staying with them anymore.
“One of the peacocks flew away from my bungalow. So we decided to send back the other bird to the Patna zoo too,” Mr Prasad said.
He, though, added there are still many peacocks which are roaming around in the areas close to his home as the forest department under a new policy decision has set them free in the VVIP areas of the state capital.
As per reports, a pair of peacocks had been brought to the official bungalow of the RJD president in the weekend after a prominent saint advised him to keep the birds at home to ward off troubles from his life.
Prasad of late had been facing serious health problems and mental worries as well. Reports said the religious guru had advised the RJD president to have a glimpse of the peacocks early in the morning saying that will bring cheers in life and wards off all troubles from life.
Apparently, it was on the advice of this saint that a pair of peacock was released at his official residence by the Forest Department—the portfolio which Prasad’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav heads in the ruling Nitish Kumar government.
Informed sources said it was in the presence of Tej Pratap that the peacocks were released in his bungalow. Within hours of getting released, the birds though went missing.
However, the stories doing the rounds in the media circles are that Mr Prasad himself set free the birds which fall in the “protected” category of wildlife act to escape unnecessary legal troubles. Authorities said peacock is a protected bird under the wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and thus, confining them at home is an open violation of this act, inviting severe punishment.
“It looks like Prasad had somewhere in his mind the case of Bollywood actor Salman Khan who has been making rounds of the Indian courts for the past over a decade in the alleged poaching of Chinakara and black bug,” remarked a close aide of the RJD chief wishing not to be quoted.
Last year, the Environment and Forest Department had planned to relocate 100 peacocks in the New Capital Area covering Raj Bhawan (the office of Governor), Chief Minister’s House, Bihar government secretariat and Ecological Park in Patna.
More than giving a new look to this area, the purpose was to maintain ecological balance given the fact that peacocks eat insects.
Subsequently, a few peacocks were set free in the VVIP areas by the forest department but this was the first time that the department concerned sent a pair of the birds to the bungalow of any leader.