They hunted for fun, meat and ‘trophy’

BENGALURU: A twelve-member group took its New Year’s Eve celebrations to a heinous level by shooting two Sambar deer in the forest area. They did it for fun, meat and ‘trophy’, a forest official said. The trophy, according to sources, was the antlers of the deer, and the shooter would get the ‘trophy’.

“Their plan was to kill the animal, clean it up with the help of locals, cut it into pieces and pack them in different covers. Those who had come from Bengaluru and Mysuru were about to carry a larger portion of meat to share it with their relatives as they consider the Sambar meat to be very delicious,” the source added.

Official sources said, “The forest officials and local wildlife activists took more than three hours to track and nab them. The accused have confessed that they have killed wild animals in the past and did not know that it was considered to be a heinous crime. The accused were caught when they were allegedly tracking another Sambar deer in the area to hunt.”  

Two of the accused — Rafiq Ahmed and Mohammed Sameer — who are professional shooters, took the lead to shoot the animals. They even had a licensed rifle. 

Sources said, “The locals — Arun, Chethan, Prasanna and Harish — confessed that they keep track of the animal movements and help tourists to hunt animals. They told us that they did it for some paltry money, meat and alcohol, which the other accused had assured to provide.”

A forest official, who was part of the operation, said, “The accused, who are all well-educated, should be ashamed of their act. They were well aware of the Wildlife Protection Act and knew that poaching and killing of animals was illegal.”