Published Aug 17, 2026 | 8:20 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 17, 2026 | 8:20 PM
The Forest Department has maintained that the group opened fire first and that the forest personnel retaliated in self-defence. (X/mallu_paruti)
Synopsis: The Karnataka Forest Department has handed over two rifles and two bags containing suspected deer meat seized after the 15 August killing of three men in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary for forensic examination. The Forest Department says its personnel were responding to suspected poaching and fired in self-defence, while the victims’ families dispute this account and allege a “fake encounter”. An inquiry has been ordered amid protests in Hanur, with the BJP calling for an independent judicial probe.
Two rifles and two bags containing suspected deer meat seized from the site of the 15 August killings of three men in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka have been handed over to the police as evidence by the Karnataka Forest Department.
Photographs of the seized material also show pellets, a head torch, a knife and a powder-like substance. Forensic examination will determine whether the meat is deer meat and whether the recovered firearms were used during the alleged exchange of fire.
The evidence will also be examined to establish the sequence of events, including the position of the bodies, the nature and location of the injuries, ballistic evidence, the trajectory of the pellets and whether the recovered firearms were actually fired.
The three men killed in the firing were Antony Swamy, 50, John Rose Peter, 42, and Kumar alias Sawariyappan, 33. A fourth man, Mahim Das, was injured. The shooting occurred around 5 am on Saturday, 15 August, in the Holemuradatti forest area near Shagya in the Hanur range of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.
A murder case was registered at the Hanur police station following a complaint by Lourde Mary, Antony Swamy’s wife. The case was registered under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with murder. No forest personnel have been named as accused in the FIR, according to a report by The New Indian Express.
The Forest Department has separately registered a case under forest and wildlife laws over alleged illegal hunting.
According to the Forest Department, two patrol teams were conducting an anti-poaching operation after receiving information about suspected hunting. Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the personnel encountered a group carrying firearms and bags containing suspected wild animal meat.
The department has maintained that the group opened fire first and that the forest personnel retaliated in self-defence. Officials have also said that one forest personnel was injured.
Reddy said the encounter took place in darkness after the personnel had been patrolling through the night. He said the forest staff could not clearly identify the people they encountered and fired three rounds from a slide-action gun using pellets.
The families of the victims have disputed the Forest Department’s claims, maintaining that the men had entered the forest on the evening of 14 August to search for missing cattle.
The Chamarajanagar Deputy Commissioner has ordered an inquiry into the deaths, with Kollegal Sub-Divisional Officer Dinesh Kumar Meena appointed as the inquiry officer.
Meena has visited the spot and conducted a mahazar. He has said the inquiry would be completed within seven days and would take into account the postmortem reports.
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The killings have triggered protests in Hanur, with hundreds of farmers, villagers, and Dalit and tribal leaders gathering outside the Hanur police station and demanding action against those responsible.
The families of the three deceased have alleged that they were killed in a “fake encounter”.
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has said the investigation would establish what happened. Hanur MLA MR Manjunath visited the protest site and assured ₹15 lakh to each deceased person’s family – ₹5 lakh from the state government and ₹10 lakh from his own funds.
Reddy said over 878 poaching cases had been recorded in the area over 16 years and claimed that only around 10 percent of poaching incidents in Chamarajanagar district come to light.
Karnataka Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, however, called for an independent judicial inquiry.
“If officials investigate officials, the inquiry is certain to go astray. So far, all such inquiries have gone in favour of officials. Only a judicial inquiry can bring out the truth,” he said.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
