Forest staff fired in self-defence after poachers opened fire, Karnataka tells Assembly

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has told the Legislative Assembly that three men killed in an early-morning encounter in the Cauvery Wildlife Reserve in Chamarajanagar district were poachers who opened fire on forest personnel, forcing the staff to return fire in self-defence.

Forest and Ecology Minister Ramalinga Reddy, responding to questions from BJP legislators, said the forest department had received information around 8 p.m. on August 14 that armed poachers had entered the Shagya jurisdiction of the Hanur Sub-Division. Two teams set out in departmental vehicles and began a search operation in the Hanur Forest Range.

According to Reddy, at about 5 a.m. on August 15 the teams spotted torchlight inside the forest, around five km from the village boundary, and moved towards the Karadikallu area. There, they allegedly came upon four men hiding behind boulders, who opened fire on the forest staff.

“The staff fired with the intention of saving their lives. The bullets hit the poachers above the waist. There was no ill-intention on the part of the forest personnel,” the minister said, adding that the government was ready to provide a detailed statement and that a magisterial inquiry had been ordered.

After hearing cries from the injured, the forest team approached and found three men lying on the ground. They were rushed to Kollegal hospital but succumbed to their injuries; their bodies were later shifted to a mortuary in Mysuru. A fourth man, identified as Mahima Das, escaped from the spot and is being treated for injuries. Around 10 forest personnel also received treatment for injuries sustained in the exchange of fire.

Reddy said the men had travelled about eight km into the reserve forest without permission and that no dead cattle were found in the area, rejecting family claims that they had entered to search for missing livestock. Forest officials recovered around 34.5 kg of suspected wildlife meat and two country-made pistols, according to the minister’s account.

The deceased were identified as Antony Swamy (50), John Rose Peter (42) and Kumar alias Sawariyappan (33), all from villages bordering the Cauvery Wildlife Reserve.

Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka questioned the government’s narrative in the Assembly, demanding a judicial probe and asking why the injured were taken to a distant hospital. He alleged the killings resembled a “pre-planned encounter” and said the department had not disclosed any prior offences by the three men.

Families of the deceased have disputed the forest department’s claim that the trio were habitual poachers, insisting they were farmers who had gone into the forest for reasons unrelated to hunting.

(Inputs from IANS)