“It was inevitable as poachers attacked Forest staff with lethal weapons”

Bandipur: A poacher was killed when the Forest Department staff fired at them in Bandipur Tiger Reserve Forest yesterday early morning.

The deceased has been identified as Manu (26), a resident of Bheemanabeedu in Gundlupet taluk of Chamarajanagar district.

Following information that a gang of eight to ten poachers had entered Maddur Range in Bandipur Reserve Forest, two teams of the Forest Department began their investigations and observed the poachers with two guns carrying deer meat in a plastic bag.

When the Forest staff issued a warning and asked them to surrender, the poachers attacked the Forest staff with lethal weapons resulting in two Forest staff falling on the ground. In an act of self defence, In-charge Deputy Range Forest Officer (DRFO) Naveen opened fire in the dark which hit Manu, who collapsed on the ground. Seeing Manu falling, other poachers managed to escape in the cover of darkness.

It is learnt that the poachers were hunting deer, rabbits and other wild animals since a few months and were selling the meat. There are a few cases registered against some of the poachers. Manu is said to be the new member of the poachers’ gang and there are no cases registered against him for forest crimes. It is learnt that he was lured into poaching but got killed.

Two plastic bags containing deer meat was found at the spot, where Manu’s dead body was found and also two guns were found. It is learnt that Manu had used one of the guns and clues of other poachers escaping from the spot have also been found.

SP Padmini Sahu visits spot

Following the incident, Chamarajanagar Superintendent of Police (SP) Padmini Sahu, Bandipur Tiger Reserve Director Dr. P. Ramesh Kumar, Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Ravindra, Gundlupet Police Inspector Parashivamurthy, Sub-Inspector Sahebagowda and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team from Mysuru visited the spot and conducted an inspection during which an empty cartridge shell, bullet wound on the deer’s body and other clues were found. The FSL team have taken the two guns and the cartridge shell into their custody for scientific analysis.

Enquiry on the spot

SP Padmini Sahu, who was present at the spot, conducted an enquiry and questioned In-charge DRFO Naveen and also collected a detailed explanation about the incident.

DRFO Naveen, who explained in detail about the incident, told the SP that he had to fire for protecting the staff as it was inevitable. He (Naveen) also told the SP that the bullet had hit the poacher as he had fired in the dark.

Meanwhile, the parents of deceased Manu said that Manu got married last year and alleged that he was lured by the poachers into hunting, following which he entered the forest area and got killed. The parents demanded stringent punishment for those who lured their son for hunting besides stating that Manu was not involved in any  forest crimes.

After the FSL team inspected the spot, the body of Manu was shifted to Chamarajanagar District Hospital, where post-mortem was conducted and the body was handed over to the family members yesterday evening.