The body of a 40-year-old man who went missing days ago on the inter-state border between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka was found floating on the banks of the Palar river on Friday, February 17, in Erode district, police said. While villagers alleged that he was shot dead by forest personnel from Karnataka, the forest officials said the patrol guards had fired in the air. The deceased man was identified as M Karavadiayan alias Raja from Govindapadi village of Kolathur in Salem district.
Tension prevailed in areas including Kolathur bordering the neighbouring state and Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka authorities have deployed adequate police personnel to maintain law and order. Vehicular traffic movement was also affected for a while.
Tamil Nadu political parties condemned the 'killing' and sought action against those responsible. Stating that Raja’s kin alleged that he was shot dead by Karnataka forest personnel, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin strongly condemned the alleged firing incident.
Raja was part of a group of four men who travelled to a forest area on the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka inter-state border on February 14. According to the FIR lodged at the Male Mahadeshwara Hills police station, based on the complaint by the Range Forest Officer (RFO) of Gopinatham in Hanur taluk of Chamarajnagar, they were trying to track down a group of people suspected of hunting in the forest, and they came upon the group late in the night near Palar river.
The forest officials said that the group fired upon the officials first and in retaliation, the guards opened fire in the air using their service rifles. The complaint stated that since the incident occurred at 1.30 am on February 15, it was too dark to see the face or number of people in the group. The RFO stated that the group jumped into the river and swam towards the Tamil Nadu side. The officials found a country-made rifle, two deer carcasses and three to four kgs of urea nearby.
Erode district police said that a probe was on over Raja's suspicious death. The police said that Raja was a truck driver and faced allegations of hunting wild animals in forest areas surrounding Bargur and Mettur in Tamil Nadu. A case was registered against him in the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka related to poaching and another case in Kolathur for gambling. Erode police said that he could have “accidentally drowned” or jumped into the river “for some other reason.”
The incident is suspected to have occurred close to the road from Mettur to Male Mahadeshwara hills near Palar river bridge between February 14 and 17. The incident was reported at 3 pm on February 17, to the district police. The police declined to specify if Raja drowned after sustaining bullet injuries or if it was only a case of drowning. Raja’s body was found floating on the river bank and sent to Salem Government Medical College Hospital for autopsy. Bargur police (Erode district) are investigating.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Stalin condoled the death of Karavadiayan and announced Rs 5 lakh as solatium to Raja’s family. He referred to the allegations of the victim's relatives about Karnataka Forest Department personnel shooting him dead. "I strongly condemn the firing by the Karnataka Forest Department. The solatium will be paid from the Chief Minister's relief fund,” he said in a statement.
Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leader Anbumani Ramadoss said that Raja was shot dead by Karnataka personnel while he was fishing and strongly condemned it. The Rajya Sabha MP said fishing was a routine activity, a source of livelihood and not a crime. "The border area with Karnataka is part of India, and it is not a border with Sri Lanka or Pakistan. If fishing is not permitted in waterbodies on the inter-state border, then violators can be driven away or face legal action. Killing is a huge crime and unpardonable,” he said.