BENGALURU: A day after a video of a four men driving through the restricted area of Bhadra Tiger Reserve went viral, Karnataka forest department officials filed a case against them.
“We caught hold of one of the accused and a search is on for the remaining three. The matter is being inquired into and the video has been kept as evidence.
Preliminary investigation shows they are residents of Bhadravathi town. While taking the road to Maridibba village, they detoured and entered area near the backwaters of Bhadra dam, which is a restricted area inside the core of the tiger reserve,” said Pulkit Meena, Director, Bhadra Tiger Reserve.
He said the road to village is open for locals, and meant only for that purpose. Since the water level in the backwaters has reduced, many areas have become motorable.
They used their private vehicle, and action will be taken against, he said. Forest officials on the ground said they had not entered from the regular side but from the territorial division side in NR Pura Range. In the video, the men were seen provoking a herd of elephants at the dam site. T
hey were screaming and instigating an animal which mock-charged towards them as they roamed in the open air jeep.