Political Row Erupts After Karnataka Forest Officials Gun Down Tamil-Origin 'Poachers'

New Delhi: A major interstate conflict has erupted after Karnataka forest officials shot down three men, suspected to be poachers, inside the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in the early hours of August 15.

The three men killed in the sanctuary are of Tamil origin. Their deaths have resulted in protests in the district of Chamarajnagar, which borders Tamil Nadu. Relatives of the deceased have held that the men had entered the sanctuary at night to look for lost cattle. However, the Karnataka forest department has held that its officers were part of an anti-poaching patrol and acted purely in self-defence.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay condemned the killings, calling the incident a “massacre”. Tamil political parties including the DMK have called for the CBI to investigate the deaths. However, Karnataka CM D.K. Shivakumar said on Monday (August 18) that states should not interfere in the affairs of other states.

The shootout

The incident occurred in the early hours of August 15, when officers of the Karnataka Forest Department gunned down three men suspected to be poachers inside the boundaries of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajnagar district.

Three men, all residents of Hanur in Chamarajnagar district – Antony Swamy (50), Jone Rose Peter (42) and Kumar Sawariyappan (35) – were killed in the shootout. A fourth, Joseph Das (44), was injured but managed to escape.

According to a report by The New Indian Express, the Karnataka Forest Department stated that it received information at around 8 pm on August 14 that some people had illegally entered the forest and were hunting wildlife. Two teams of forest officials were deployed and they spotted people moving inside the forest using torchlights. In the shootout that ensued, the three alleged poachers lost their lives.

The Karnataka government defended the forest officials involved in the shooting, saying that the alleged poachers refused to surrender and attacked the officials. The shootout, therefore, was in self-defence, the Karnataka government has held.

On August 18, the Forest Department also produced two bags of approximately 20-30 kg of suspected wildlife meat allegedly seized during the operation. A pair of unused slippers that the department also produced, however, has raised questions about the veracity of the evidence.

Relatives of the deceased, however, said that the men had only entered the forests to search for lost cattle. They asked how slippers worn by the poachers could have no dust or blood on them. The encounter was “fake”, the relatives of the deceased have maintained.

Protests over the deaths

Protests erupted in Hanur town on August 15. Mysuru and Chamarajnagar districts also witnessed protests for two consecutive days on August 16 and 17.

On August 16, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay condemned the killings, calling the deaths of the three men “heartbreaking”.

“I strongly condemn this massacre. The explanation provided by the Karnataka Forest Department regarding this incident is unacceptable,” he said in a post on social media platform X. “An honest investigation must be conducted regarding this brutal incident. A high-level investigation committee should be constituted, and appropriate punishment should be meted out to those responsible. The Karnataka government must provide all necessary assistance to the families of the victims. I strongly urge the Karnataka government to take appropriate measures to ensure that no such incident occurs again.”

The Archdiocese of Bengaluru on August 17 demanded an independent judicial inquiry into the deaths of the three men.

‘States should not interfere in others’ matters’

Hanur MLA M.R. Manjunath distributed a compensation of Rs 15 lakh to the families of the three deceased men on August 17.

Reacting to the demands of Tamil political parties such as the DMK for the CBI to investigate the shootout, Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday said that one state must not interfere in another state’s affairs.

“This is a federal structure. No state should interfere with any state’s administration…[O.P.] Panneerselvam or anyone, they should have basic culture. I cannot involve myself in any way in Tamil Nadu’s law and order problem. Every state has its own problem. They should also know that. We know how to protect our state. Let them do their job. We will do our job. I don’t want to interfere with their administration. We have to see, we have to protect whatever sanctity is there for our state,” Shivakumar told reporters on August 18.

​The Karnataka government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the shootout to establish the sequence of events and examine whether forest personnel opened fire in self-defence.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.