The injured animal was rushed to the Gurugramcentre of People for Animals, an animal welfare organisation, after a few villagers raised an alarm.

Veterinarians treating the antelope said her condition is stable now. "But the animal is still in the critical care unit as she has got severe injuries in the abdomen. We we have removed the bullet," said a doctor.

Amit Chaudhery, president of PFA-Gurugram, told TOI, "Someone used a country-made pistol to shoot her. It is not the first time that a blue bull has been shot at, killing of nilgai peaks at ripening and harvesting seasons every year. Besides, they are killed as the demand for wildlife meat is increasing in the area."

According to villagers, both police and the wildlife department have been inefficient in dealing with the case. "Wild animals are killed in the area because of demand for their meat. Also, people believe that blue bulls destroy fields and thus they shot them. This time, we have made a formal complaint to the local wildlife department and police. However, no action has been taken yet," said a villager.

SHO of Sohna police station, Mukesh, on the other hand, said he was yet to receive any complaint. "We have not received any complaint regarding shooting of a nilgai in the past one week, neither an email nor a written complaint," he said.

Activists blamed the authorities for turning a blind eye to the issue.

"It seems nilgai is an unholy cow in Haryana, despite that the wild animal forming an important part of the food chain. Killing nilgai is destroying the prey of other wild animals who feed on them and thus disturbing the entire food chain," said Chaudhery.

The nilgai or blue bull (Boselaphustragocamelus) is the largest Asian antelope and this species is endemic in the Indian subcontinent. It is protected under Schedule III of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Despite repeated attempts, district forest officer (wildlife) Shyam Sunder could not be contacted.