Coimbatore: In an unusual development, Forest department here arrested four members including two senior citizens for cooking deer meat near a reserve forest area on the outskirts of Coimbatore on Wednesday.
Official sources told DC that based on a tip-off, Forest department staff undertook an inspection led by Periyanaickenpalayam ranger C.Palaniraja when they found deer meat being cooked in a private farm land close to reserve forest area in Anaikatti hills.
Seeing the forest officials, the group members sought to flee, but, Forest department staff nabbed them in no time.
They arrested four were identified as Rajasekaran 50, Arjunan, 65, belonging to Periya-Jambukandi tribal village, Maruthan, 65, and Periyathambi, 60, residing at Senkulzhi village.
During investigation they claimed that they did not poach the deer, but found it lying dead after having been mauled to death by wild dogs in the vicinity.
However, the Forest department officials at Periyanaickenpalayam arrested the four and seized deerskin and 10-kg of deer meat from them. Further investigations are on.
