Three men have been arrested in connection with the recent deaths of a tigress and her four cubs at Male Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary — India’s largest single-day tiger mortality since Project Tiger’s launch.
The accused — Konappa, Madaraju, and Nagaraj — are residents of Koppa village within the sanctuary. They have been charged under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and the Karnataka Forest Act 1963. A local court sent the accused to judicial custody for three days.
Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre confirmed the arrests on Saturday, stating that all three suspects were directly involved in poisoning cattle carcass that was subsequently consumed by a tigress and her four cubs.
The breakthrough came after Shivanna, the father of the accused Madaraju, was detained on Friday and confessed to knowledge of the crime. Senior sanctuary officials revealed that preliminary questioning of Shivanna unravelled the crime committed by the accused, including his son.
“Based on his confessions, we have arrested three people… Shivanna and some others were aware of the conspiracy,” said a forest official. Madaraju initially fled after his father’s arrest but was apprehended later.
According to a police officer, the tigress and her cubs were killed following tiger attacks on cattle. The accused deliberately sprayed pesticide on a cattle carcass, creating a deadly trap for the tigress and her cubs.
Karnataka Forest Department has formed a high-level inquiry committee headed by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests B P Ravi and given 14 days to submit a comprehensive report.
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Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident.