Forest encounter
Hanur MLA M.R. Manjunath pays his last respects before handing over cheques of Rs. 10 lakh each to the families of the deceased.
Chamarajanagar: The bodies of the three men killed in the recent encounter at the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar district reached their native villages late last night, following a day-long standoff over the post-mortem examination.
Preparations for the funerals began immediately at Mariyamangala, Larsadoddi and Jagannathadoddi in Hanur taluk, with villagers using earth movers to dig the graves.
Antonyswamy (50) of Mariyamangala, John Rose Peter (42) of Jagannathadoddi and Kumar (33) of Larsadoddi in Chamarajanagar district were killed in an exchange of fire involving Forest Department personnel in the Holemuridatti beat of Chikkalluru Reserved Forest under the Hanur Wildlife Range of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in the early hours of Saturday.
The Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC&RI) authorities faced difficulty conducting the post-mortem yesterday as the families initially refused to give consent.
The parents insisted that Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Forest Minister Ramalinga Reddy and senior Forest Department officials visit the encounter spot.
The families also said, they did not want Government compensation and demanded accountability. They initially refused to sign the documents required for the inquest and resisted scanning of the bodies to detect bullets before the autopsy.
Police officials explained that the scanning was mandatory and eventually persuaded the families to cooperate. The bodies were taken one by one in ambulances to the K.R. Hospital radiology unit, scanned and brought back to the mortuary.
After several rounds of persuasion, the relatives agreed to sign the documents, allowing the post-mortem to begin. The procedure was completed by around 8 pm, after which the bodies were shifted under tight security in separate ambulances to their native villages.
Last rites
This morning, the bodies were taken to Thomiyarpalya Church for prayers. At 11 am, the coffins were placed inside the church, where the Bishop of Mysuru, Most Rev. Dr. Francis Serrao SJ, led a special Mass and prayers lasting over an hour.
Fr. K. Charles Joseph officiated the rituals, including the sprinkling of holy water and the Eucharistic service. The bodies were later taken to the burial grounds for the final rites as per Christian tradition. The villagers and relatives had staged protests against the encounter until yesterday. However, they agreed to proceed with the funerals following assurances from Hanur MLA M.R. Manjunath.
The MLA visited the bereaved families, paid his respects and handed over cheques of Rs. 10 lakh each as compensation. His assurance that he would pursue their demands helped ease tensions and led to the suspension of the protests.
The atmosphere remained sombre in the villages, with grieving relatives and community members breaking down in tears. There were discussions on conducting a joint burial, but the families eventually decided to hold separate funerals for Antonyswamy and Peter at Mariyamangala and Kumar at Thomiyarpalya.
This post was published on August 17, 2026 7:30 pm