LAHORE: A farmhouse owner and a TikToker were arrested on Thursday after a 19-year-old farmhouse employee was killed by a pet lioness in the farmhouse in the Kahna area on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the office of the deputy inspector general (DIG) of police identified the arrested suspects as farmhouse owner Fayyaz and TikToker Nauman.
The spokesperson said Nauman had visited the farmhouse to make a TikTok video when the lioness allegedly went out of control and attacked Talha, a farm employee, leaving him critically injured.
Talha was shifted to a private hospital where he died during treatment.
Police investigations revealed that an attempt had allegedly been made to conceal the circumstances of the incident by describing it as a dog attack. However, an inquiry established that the victim had been attacked by a lioness.
The animal was confiscated by the wildlife department while the victim’s body was shifted to a morgue for postmortem.
A case was registered against the suspects.
Police are also investigating whether the farmhouse had a valid permit to keep the lioness and had taken safety arrangements.
DIG Operations Faisal Kamran said an attempt to conceal the facts and all aspects of possible negligence would be investigated.
He said human life could not be put at risk in the name of entertainment or personal interests, adding that making TikTok videos could not take precedence over human life.