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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Sunday, August 16, condemned the killing of three Tamil men by Karnataka Forest Department personnel in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar district and sought a high-level inquiry, amid concerns that the incident echoes the controversial 2015 Seshachalam alleged encounter in Andhra Pradesh, in which 20 Tamil men were shot dead by security personnel.
Anthony Sami, John Rose Peter and Kumar, who were from Tamil Nadu and had been living in villages in Hanur taluk of Karnataka, were killed in the early hours of August 15 in what Karnataka authorities described as an exchange of fire during an anti-poaching operation.
“The explanation given by the Karnataka Forest Department regarding the incident is unacceptable. An honest investigation should be conducted into this brutal incident,” CM Vijay said in a social media post.
The Tamil Nadu CM called for a high-level inquiry committee and said those responsible should be appropriately punished. He also urged the Karnataka government to provide assistance to the families of the deceased.
According to the Karnataka Forest Department, personnel were conducting an anti-poaching operation in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary after receiving information about suspected poaching. Officials alleged that the group opened fire at them, following which the forest personnel fired in self-defence.
The department said firearms and two bags containing wild animal meat were recovered from the spot. Three men were killed, while a fourth man, identified as Mahima Das, reportedly escaped and was later taken to hospital with injuries.
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. The inquiry will examine the circumstances leading to the firing, including which side opened fire and whether the forest personnel acted in self-defence. Shivakumar has also assured the victims' families that compensation would be provided.
However, the families and political parties in Tamil Nadu have disputed the Forest Department's account. They have said the three men were farmers and denied that they were involved in poaching.
The incident has triggered protests in Chamarajanagar and Mysuru. In Hanur, relatives and villagers blocked the road to Male Mahadeshwara Betta, demanding action against the forest personnel, compensation and the arrest of those involved. The protest was withdrawn after the local MLA assured them that compensation would be provided.
The Hanur police have registered an FIR against the forest officials under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with punishment for murder, based on a complaint filed by the wife of one of the deceased. The bodies have been sent to KR Hospital in Mysuru for postmortem examinations.
DMK president and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin described the killings as shocking and alleged that there was an attempt to protect those responsible. He urged the Tamil Nadu government to register its protest with Karnataka.
“Unlike in the Mekedatu issue, where silence prevailed, the Tamil Nadu government must register its condemnation with the Karnataka government over this incident”, he said.
PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss demanded a CBI probe and Rs 1 crore compensation for each victim's family. He said the truth may not emerge through the magisterial inquiry ordered by the Karnataka government.
CPI state secretary M Veerapandian rejected the poaching allegation, saying the three men were farmers who took their cattle into the forest for grazing and had entered the forest while searching for missing cattle. The party demanded that the officials involved be arrested and dismissed.
CPI(M) state secretary P Shanmugam also rejected the Forest Department's version and demanded the arrest and dismissal of the personnel involved.
The incident has drawn comparisons with the April 2015 Seshachalam killings, where 20 Tamil Nadu labourers were shot dead by the Andhra Pradesh Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force in the Seshachalam forests in Chittoor district. The police had claimed that the men were involved in red-sanders smuggling and had opened fire at the personnel, who retaliated in self-defence. The victims' families and human rights organisations, however, disputed the account and alleged that the men were subjected to extrajudicial killing.
