One person, suspected to be a poacher, was shot dead in an exchange of fire between the forest department staff and a gang of eight to 10 persons in Maddur range of Bandipur Tiger Reserve in the early hours of November 5.
The forest department personnel on field duty apparently heard sounds of gun shots around midnight and a team was immediately rushed towards the source of the sound. Upon combing the area in the Maddur range the forest guards and anti-poaching camp personnel stumbled upon a gang of eight to 10 persons who allegedly fired at them.
Mr. Ramesh Kumar, Director, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, said the forest guards returned fire in which one person was killed while the remaining members of the gang disappeared under the cover of darkness. ‘’We have launched a manhunt with the help of the police which is trying zero in on them based on tracking the mobile calls’’, said Mr. Ramesh Kumar.
It is suspected that the gang members were from Hongalli and surrounding villages where poaching takes place for meat on the forest periphery. ‘’But on Sunday the gang was found inside the core area of the forest’’, said Mr.Ramesh Kumar. A gun and dismembered parts of a sambar has been seized from the scene and further investigations are on.
