Chamarajanagar: Three accused from Koppa village identified as Konnappa, Madaraju and Nagaraju, who were arrested on charges of lacing poison to the carcass of a cow leading to the death of a tigress and her four cubs near Meenyam Zone of Hoogyam Wildlife Range in MM Hills, were produced before the Principal Civil Judge and were remanded to judicial custody.

Meanwhile, authorities have  made a change in the High-Level Investigation Team which was formed to probe the deaths of the tigress and her four cubs. The team formed under the Chairmanship of APCCF Kumar Pushkar has left out Conservator of Forests (CF) P. Ramesh Kumar from the Investigation Team.

The Investigation Team comprises of APCCF Srinivasulu, CCF (Chamarajanagar Circle) T. Heeralal, NTCA representative, Mysuru Zoo Veterinary Officer and Wildlife Expert Sanjay Gubbi.

Minister, MLA visits spot

Meanwhile, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre accompanied by H.D. Kote MLA Anil Chikkamadu and other officials visited the spot in MM Hills on Friday where a tigress and her four cubs were found dead and collected information from the Forest officials.

The Forest Minister had ordered a high-level probe into the tigers deaths following which a special team constituted by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the High Level Probe Committee constituted by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF-Wildlife) conducted a probe.

Based on the instructions from the Minister and guided by senior Forest Officers, the Forest Department and the Police Department conducted a joint operation and arrested three accused, who reportedly confessed of poisoning the carcass of the cow.