Insult to Hinduism, Akbars companion cant be Sita: VHP moves Calcutta High Court against Lions Names

Calcutta: The Bengal wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has filed a plea before the Calcutta High Court challenging the forest department's decision to keep a lion named 'Akbar' with a lioness named 'Sita' in the same enclosure at Safari Park, Siliguri from Sepahijala Zoological Park in Bishalgarh, Tripura. 

While Sita is a figure in the epic Ramayana and is worshipped as a Hindu deity, Akbar is the name of a Mughal emperor.

On February 16, the plea was mentioned before a bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya and has been listed for hearing on February 20. 

VHP activists Anup Kumar Mondol and Lakshman Kumar Agarwal filed a case against naming of the lioness Sita. They claimed that the move has hurt the religious sentiments of several people and so, they moved the Court seeking relief. The plea was moved through Advocate Subhankar Dutta. 

The VHP asserted that placing "Sita" with "Akbar" would be an affront to Hinduism and that the lions had been named by the State's forest department. The religious organization has requested that the former's name be altered.

As per reports, the forest department maintained that that they did not rename the lions and that, the latter already been named before arriving, earlier this week.