MYSURU: Two of the three victims in the Hanur shooting incident were shot from close range, stated the postmortem reports, raising fresh questions over the circumstances surrounding the firing and their deaths.
According to the postmortem, two of the three deceased -- Sebastian David Kumar (36) and Anthonyswamy P (50) -- sustained injuries from a shotgun fired from a close range. Both died of haemorrhage and shock resulting from multiple shotgun injuries.
The three men -- Sebastian, Anthonyswamy and John Rose Peter (42) -- were shot dead by forest personnel near the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border inside the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary on August 15. Another person, Mahima Das -- who was reportedly with them, had fled from the spot.
Foresters claimed that the four persons had entered deep into the forest with weapons and had hunted deer. On noticing the four, the forest personnel asked them to surrender. But the men replied with fire and forest officials shot at them in self-defence, killing the three, forest officials had maintained. But the postmortem reports seem to question the version of the forest department.
Sebastian’s postmortem report stated that he had a shotgun entry wound on the front of the left chest, resulting in rib fractures. The injury was caused by a shotgun fired from a close range.
The autopsy report of Anthonyswamy also recorded a shotgun entry wound deep in the abdominal cavity. A CT scan of John Peter showed multiple-round, hyperdense fragments consistent with pellet injuries caused by a firearm. The postmortems were conducted at Mysuru Medical College and Research Institute. The shooting incident triggered strong political reactions in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.