Karnataka poacher shooting row: Retired forest officers back staff, seek fair probe
Three suspected poachers killed in Karnataka's Hanur region face contentious legal proceedings after forest officers allegedly opened fire, according to the State Retired Forest Officers Association. The Association urges Chief Minister D K Shivakumar to prevent forest personnel from being portrayed as criminals until an impartial investigation is concluded.
Three bodies – Anthony Swamy, 50, John Rose Peter, 43, and Sebastian David Kumar, 35 – were found dead on August 15 in the Hanur forest of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, with a fourth suspect, Joseph Mahima Das alias Benjamin, 45, escaping. Post-mortem reports indicate two gunshot wounds on Sebastian David Kumar's body, suggesting a close-range shooting, while the forest department maintains that the suspects fired first and officers retaliated without malicious intent.
The Association calls for modern safety equipment for forest rangers and deplores the criminalization of staff, noting the dangerous nature of their duties in remote and dark forest areas.
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