Ravindra Jadeja lands in trouble after selfie with lions

The Gujarat forest department has initiated a probe after photographs of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja posing in front of Asiatic lions in Gir Sanctuary went viral on social media.

Several photographs of the ace cricketer, along with his wife and others, posing with a pride of lions in the background, began doing rounds on social media for the last two days. These pictures surfaced soon after the forest officials had issued an advisory for tourists and locals not to take selfies with lions, to discourage them from getting too close to the wild animal and putting their lives at risk.

Jadeja, who is a native of Saurashtra, was on a two-day visit to Sasan Gir in Junagadh district and had been on a lion safari with his wife Riva. However, he and his wife reportedly got down from the vehicle and clicked photographs with a pride of lions. Pictures of him taking selfies with fans and some forest guards too surfaced eventually.

“This is a protected forest and tourists are not allowed to get down from their vehicles. We have received information that some pictures of the cricketer having got down from the vehicle and having taken selfies with lions have been circulating on the social media. Even some forest guards are seen with him in these photographs. Therefore, we have ordered the superintendent of Gir National Park to conduct an inquiry and file a report,” Aniruddh Pratap Singh, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) of Junagadh wildlife circle, said.