Forest fire damages 10 acres in Chamarajanagar amid anti-poaching camp attacks

A forest fire allegedly started by unidentified miscreants has damaged around 10 acres of the Shilubepura forest area in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district, Forest Department sources said on Thursday.

Officials suspect the fire was set in retaliation for the deaths of three alleged poachers during an exchange of fire with forest personnel on 15 August. An anti-poaching camp near Jageri was also destroyed in the latest incident, the sources said.

The fire follows a series of attacks on anti-poaching camps in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary amid continuing anger over the three deaths. Unidentified people allegedly used explosives to damage several camps in the district during the intervening night of 18 and 19 August.

The Minchinarehalla anti-poaching camp in the Kothanur zone was reportedly blown-up using dynamite and gelatin sticks. The force of the explosion damaged its walls and burnt materials stored inside.

Camps at Minchinahalli, Bheemeshwari, Ollemarada Hatti, Budikere, Bandahalli and Kalidoddi in the Kothanur zone were also targeted. No injuries were reported in the attacks.

Forest department personnel have released a series of videos showing the damage caused by the incidents, sources said.

The violence followed the deaths of Anthony Samy, John Rose Peter and Kumar, residents of villages in Hanur taluk of Chamarajanagar district. They were shot dead by Forest Department personnel in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in the early hours of 15 August.

Karnataka authorities said forest personnel had launched an anti-poaching operation after receiving information about suspected wildlife poaching. According to their account, the group opened fire on the personnel, who then responded in self-defence. The three men were killed in the ensuing exchange.

Karnataka chief minister D.K. Shivakumar said on Wednesday that the government would await the findings of the inquiry into the incident before making further comments.

The deaths have also triggered a political controversy in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, where parties have said the victims were Tamils and questioned the Karnataka authorities’ account of the firing.

Tamil Nadu chief minister C. Joseph Vijay condemned the deaths and described the Forest Department’s explanation as “unacceptable”. He called for a high-level committee to conduct a fair investigation into the incident.

The matter was also raised in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday, with legislators moving a call attention motion seeking a high-level investigation into the Forest Department firing.

With PTI inputs