COIMBATORE: A tribal man alleged that the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) forest officials tortured him into confessing to an offence he had no role in. His allegations were denied by field director of MTR KK Kaushal, who insisted that the man had an antecedent of crimes against wildlife.
In a video doing rounds on the social media, the man is seen claiming to have been subjected to third degree methods so that he would confess to poisoning wild dogs. The purported victim, Samiyappan, is seen speaking from a government primary health centre at Masinagudi, where he was undergoing treatment after attempting suicide.
According to sources, MTR officials took ten persons, including Samiyappan, to Anaikatti forest guest house on Friday for questioning in connection with the death of five wild dogs at Vibuthimalai in September.
While three were arrested and two slapped with fine for wildlife crimes, five persons, including Samiyappan, were released. “Apart from the wild dog poisoning incident, the ten were called for questioning in connection with the death of a tigress. Samiyappan was the main suspect. Once the autopsy of the tigress is in, we will have a clearer picture,” officials said. Kaushal said, “We did not torture him. He was among the people we handed over to a village head.”