Lahore, Mar 31 (PTI) A Bengal tiger on Sunday injured two persons after it broke open its cage while being transferred to a city in Pakistan's Punjab province, officials said.

Punjab Wildlife Department Director General Mudassar Riaz Malik told PTI that a resident of Multan, identified as Waqas Ahamd, had bought the Bengal tiger from Faizi in Lahore.

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"On Sunday, when Waqas was shifting the big cat to Multan from Lahore it broke open its cage near Multan, some 350kms from Lahore, and entered the fields there," he said, adding that the owner of the tiger informed the wildlife department about the incident.

"The department dispatched a team from Multan. After a hectic operation lasting several hours, the wildlife officials rescued it. Before the big cat was rescued it had injured two persons," the DG said.

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He added that the injured persons have been shifted to a hospital in Multan where their condition is stated to be out of danger.

The official said the Bengal tiger's owner would be fined for transporting the big cat without informing the wildlife department.

He said the tiger was shifted to the Multan Zoo.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)