Mysore/Bengaluru: The Karnataka and Tamil Nadu border near Palar in Chamarajanagar district erupted in violence on Friday after a missing poacher's body surfaced near the banks of the river Cauvery in a highly decomposed state.
An unruly mob of over 2,000 people from three surrounding villages, egged on by a few Tamil outfits attacked Palar check post and Gopinatham Range Forest Officer's building.
The villagers were protesting against the killing of Palani (42), a native of Govindapadi village near Mettur, who they said was not a notorious poacher as claimed by Karnataka forest officials.
They also allege that Palani was caught by Karnataka forest staff and was ‘inhumanly’ tortured. The villagers have reportedly stolen four firearms, a water tanker, a pair of elephant tusks weighing 20 kilos, a few laptops from RFO's office and also set ablaze a two-wheeler.
“Palani’s body has several external injuries and a deep wound on his head. His left hand is chopped-off and his private parts are also missing pointing towards torture”, said angry protesters from Govindapaddi village near Mettur from where Palani hails.
Mr Vasanth Reddy, DCF, Cauvery Wildlife Division, rubbished protesters’ claims and said Palani along with two others Raju and Muthuswamy entered Karnataka forests and poached two Sambar deer.
The government on Friday ordered a departmental inquiry under a Chief Conservator of Forest ranked officer. The report is expected in the next 48 hours.
In the last two weeks, there have been at least five attempts of poaching in Cauvery and M.M. Hills Wildlife Sanctuaries. Forest patrolling parties have been hearing gun shots and spotting torchlights along the Palar River which divides Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and M.M. Hills Wildlife Sanctuary.
Both these wildlife areas were classified as sanctuaries few years ago and since then there have been several attempts from the poaching gangs from across the borders to gain entry to Karnataka side of the border to hunt animals. The gangs also come for fishing and timber lifting, but poaching of gaurs and deer seem to be most rampant.
Both these sanctuaries, which border Tamil Nadu, have a list of poachers from the neighbouring villagers in Tamil Nadu. The forest officials started noticing increased number of poaching cases as the patrolling was intensified in these two sanctuaries.
In June, foresters in M.M. Hills started a manhunt for poacher Sarvanan from Govindapady village, who was seen as Veerappan’s successor. In May, Sarvanan attacked Palar checkpost and challenged forest officials to catch him.
He was caught by Karnataka foresters and was lodged in Chamrajnagar jail. After his arrest, there was a lull for a month. But after the monsoon rains receded in the last month, the gangs regrouped and increased attacks. Foresters claim that night patrolling staff is under constant pressure as armed poacher gangs keep a watch on them from across the river.
Catching fish is poaching: DCF
The incident came to light after Palani was reported missing by his wife on Thursday in Mettur police station. Deccan Chronicle was the first to report on the shootout and that Palani had gone missing.
“On a tip-off, our forest team headed by Gopinatham RFO Madhusudan rushed to the area at 2 am on Wednesday. Noticing our movement, the poachers opened fire and a bullet just missed the RFO’s head and we opened only retaliation fire.
We confiscated carcasses of two Sambar deer. In the shootout, one poacher sustained bullet injury and is reportedly admitted to a hospital in Tamil Nadu. Palani while trying to flee drowned in Cauvery river after sustaining head injury. His body didn’t have any bullet injuries,” Mr Vasanth Reddy, DCF, Cauvery Wildlife Division said.
He said the three accused including the deceased were habitual offenders and are history-sheeters. He also dismissed another claim of villagers that the three entered the forest to catch fish in the river and were mistaken for poachers by Karnataka forest staff.
“We confiscated the carcasses of two Sambar, proving that they were in the forests for poaching. Even catching fish in reserve forests amounts to poaching. Our staff work in extremely hostile environs and this part of the forests are notorious for wildlife crimes. Our personnel have done a commendable job", he said.
