Man mauled to death by lion after running into a pride in Gujarat

2 min readAhmedabadUpdated: Jun 16, 2026 10:28 PM IST

Later in the day, the forest department rescued two lions that likely belong to the same pride and efforts were on to rescue two cubs as well, officials said. (File Photo)

A pride of lions mauled to death a 29-year-old man who worked at a restaurant in Gujarat’s Amreli district, forest department officials said on Tuesday. Prakash Chandra, who hailed from Uttarakhand, was killed after he encountered a pride of lions while walking home, officials said.

Later in the day, the forest department rescued two lions that likely belong to the same pride and efforts were on to rescue two cubs as well, officials said. “Scat analysis of the rescued lions will be done to confirm if they killed the man,” the official added. The department has also issued instructions to increase the number of trackers in the region and to intensify round-the-clock monitoring and patrolling there.

According to sources, Chandra’s body was found in Kovaya village of Rajula tehsil around 6 am. A forest department official said Chandra was originally from Pithoragadh in Uttarakhand and had been working at a restaurant in Rajula.

A case of accidental death was registered at the Pipavav Marine Police Station. Police inspector V K Rathod said the incident happened around 1 am when Chandra, who was walking home, was attacked by a pride of lions. “There is CCTV footage (of the incident) from a distance,” Rathod said.

Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia said in a statement, “The news of a youth’s demise in a conflict with lions is deeply distressing. I pay my tributes to the youth (Prakash Chandra) who lost his life in this unfortunate incident and express my heartfelt condolences to the grieving family.”

Modhwadia said, “To ensure that such an incident is not repeated in the future, necessary instructions have been given to increase the number of trackers in the entire area, as well as to intensify round-the-clock monitoring and patrolling.”

“Under normal circumstances, Asiatic lions tend to avoid human conflict, but sometimes due to situational reasons, there are unexpected changes in their behaviour, which result in such tragedies. All necessary preventive and effective measures will be taken to maintain a proper balance between the safety of human life and conservation of wildlife,” he added.