BENGALURU: Mahima Das, who escaped the alleged encounter in Hanur on August 15 in which three people were killed, said he fled after hearing gunshots while sleeping in the forest. He was speaking at an event organised by the Karnataka Pranta Raitha Sangha and the All India Lawyers’ Union on Friday, where he demanded justice.
Anthony Swamy, David Sebastian Kumar and John Rose Peter were shot dead in the alleged encounter in Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Hanur, Chamarajanagar district.
The organisations demanded a comprehensive judicial inquiry into the killings led by a High Court judge, the arrest of those accused, compensation of Rs 1 crore for each victim’s family and a government job for one member of each affected family.
Das said two cows belonging to Anthony Swamy went missing on August 13. As the cows had not returned, Swamy contacted him and two others to search for them. Around 5 pm on August 14, all four entered the forest to look for the missing cattle. “Kumar and I were in one team, while the other two searched separately. We decided to meet at a particular spot after the search. Later, we met, but as I am elderly, we were tired and it was getting dark, we decided to rest.
Late that night, I heard gunshots and ran away to save my life. I hid in the forest. When I saw a forest department jeep moving nearby, I thought of approaching the officials and explaining why we were there, but I was scared and stayed hidden.
Later, with the help of others, I contacted villagers. Until then, I did not know that the others had been killed,” he said. Lourde Mary, said, “I have three children, and I am demanding justice in this case.”
Advocate S Balan said it was difficult to conclude whether the incident amounted to homicide or genocide. “I have accessed the postmortem reports, which mention entry wounds and satellite pellet injuries. According to the doctor, it was a close-range shooting. A single-slide pump-action shotgun was allegedly used by the forest officials. This is a case in which the lawkeepers have become lawbreakers. Victims were sleeping when they were killed. What was the mindset of the person who shot them?”he questioned.