The three lions guilty of killing three people near Gujarat's Gir sanctuary in separate incidents recently have been given a life term in a zoo. The police had taken 18 lions into custody for the killings, of which three were found guilty.

Forest officials said that the 'guilty' animals will be kept in a zoo for the rest of their life as punishment while others will be released back into the sanctuary.

The police took paw prints of the 'suspects' and also ordered a lab test of their excreta to pinpoint the real culprits.

"We think we have pinpointed the guilty lion, but we are still awaiting the results of nine more animals," JA Khan, Gujarat's chief conservator of forests, said.

In 2013, the Supreme Court had asked the Gujarat government to relocate some of the lions from Gir to Kuno Palpur wildlife sanctuary. The Gujarat government had then appealed against the verdict but the top court had turned down the appeal.