BENGALURU: The Karnataka Forest Department has sacked one staffer while another is being investigated after a video surfaced showing a forest staffer firing at a tusker. The incident was reported in Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BRT) and one of the patrolling party member has recorded the video.
The video showed the tusker trying to cross the rail barricade and the forester firing the shot. The video was said to have been shot on March 7, but came to light on March 11. It has sent shock waves across the country with many questioning the capability of the staffers while some even termed it as an organised poaching racket that had surfaced. However, some forest officers were quick to defend it, stating that it was an act to chase the tusker and that the shot was aimed at the rail barricade for safety.
In the video, a watcher shoots in the direction of the elephant and the bullet hits the rail barricade. The tusker just misses the shot by a whisker. The others in the jeep are also heard making shrieking calls to scare away the elephant. The petrified tusker, then slips through the elephant-proof trench, created after the rail barricade, and runs away from the forest boundary into the neighbouring fields.
Forest department officials confirmed that the incident happened on Wednesday afternoon between Hadiyal and Omkara ranges of BTR.
BTR Director T Balachandra admitted to TNIEthat the incident was uncalled for. “Normally, staffers are given weapons while patrolling and on night vigil. Gunshots are fired in the air at 60-70 degree angle to scare the animal. But here, it is clearly visible that the tusker was shot from close range and at 40 degrees angle or even less. I have sought for an inquiry report and strict action will be taken against all those in the vehicle, the person who took the shot, the person who yelled, the person who shot the video, the in-charge guard and Range Forest Officers,” he said.
He added that preliminary investigation revealed that the tusker was trying to enter the forest by crossing the barricade. “There are 4-5 tuskers and a mother and calf which regularly cross the barricades between Omkara and Hadiyal to raid standing crops in the fields. This is because 70% of forest patch has eucalyptus plantations. So, to direct the elephants towards the gates created at 2km intervals in the rail barricades, regular chase operations are done, but gunshots are not fired,” he said. Meanwhile, Rahim, a temporary staffer, who shot at the elephant, has been sacked. Umesh, a permanent employee, is under investigation.