The deaths of three men in a forest department firing in Chamarajanagar district triggered protests in both Houses of the Karnataka Assembly Monday, with the Opposition demanding a judicial inquiry into the incident. In the Assembly, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka alleged that forest officials had fired at the men from close range and questioned the circumstances of the firing. "(The firing from forest officials) cannot be called an act of retaliation. Forest officials have the right to self-defence and so do common people. They (poachers) could have been shot in the leg, but they were shot in the chest and neck," Ashoka said. The incident took place around 5 am on August 15 in the Hanur Forest Range of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. Antony Swamy, 50, Jone Rose Peter, 42, and Kumar Sawariyappan, 35, were killed, while Joseph Das, 44, was injured. "What was the necessity to kill three people? If one was shot, the rest would have fled," Ashoka said. He alleged that the government had “murdered innocent farmers” living near the forest and said it was common for residents in such areas to enter the reserve forest. Ashoka demanded a judicial inquiry and Rs 1 crore compensation for each of the victims’ families. 'Magisterial inquiry underway' Responding to the Opposition, Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Ramalinga Reddy said two forest department teams had begun searching for alleged poachers after receiving a tip-off around 8 pm on August 14. According to Reddy, the teams spotted torchlight inside the forest around 5 am. "When department staff tried to convince the poachers to surrender, they tried to attack them," the minister said. In retaliation, a forest official fired in the direction from which the light had come, he said. Addressing questions about the multiple injuries suffered by the victims, Reddy said three rounds had been fired from a slide-action gun. "A bullet from the gun does not hit a particular part directly. The cartridge consists of small pellets and gunpowder and scatters when it comes out of the gun. This has caused injuries in various body parts of the accused," the minister said. Reddy said 34.25 kg of wild meat was also recovered from the spot. On the demand for a judicial probe, Reddy said a magisterial inquiry was already underway. “If there are any shortcomings in it, I will talk to the CM (about a judicial probe),” he said. The incident had triggered protests in Hanur. On Sunday, Hanur MLA M R Manjunath assured the victims' families that each would receive Rs 15 lakh in compensation.
