Days after a video showed a few people handling three tiger cubs and filming them under the headlights of a vehicle at the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre ordered a CID investigation into the incident on Wednesday.
The video surfaced during the third week of October and is said to have been shot in the Bedaguli forest area of the Punajanur range in the reserve. The incident sparked outrage among wildlife activists, who demanded action against the culprits.
A complaint was filed with the forest department alleging that three people from a private estate in Punajanur had handled the cubs at the BRT Reserve, violating several wildlife laws. The tigress that birthed the cubs was not seen, raising doubts about its well-being. The complaint stated that tigresses rarely abandon their cubs, and sought an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the video.
Khandre’s office issued a statement saying the minister had directed the additional chief secretary of the forest department to institute the investigation. “The minister cited complaints that some individuals—allegedly linked to an organization previously booked for forest crimes in 2015—entered the forest, filmed and touched the tiger cubs under vehicle headlights, violating wildlife protection laws. Concerns have also been raised about the whereabouts of the mother tiger,” the statement read.
Khandre further said, “There are also suspicions that the tigresses might be poached.”