TN CM condemns Karnataka forest dept 'killing' three 'Tamils', says explanation unacceptable

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has strongly condemned the "killing" of three "Tamils" by Karnataka forest department and said the explanation given by them on the incident was "unacceptable."

Demanding a high-level probe into the forest department firing incident, the chief minister said it was "heartbreaking" that the Tamils - Anthony Samy, John Rose Peter, and Kumar, who lived in the villages in Hanur Taluk of Chamarajanagar district in Karnataka, were shot dead by the forest department in the early hours of August 15, in the Cauvery Wildlife sanctuary area.

"I strongly condemn this brutal killing. The explanation given by the Karnataka forest department regarding the incident is not acceptable. A fair investigation should be conducted by a high-level committee on the heinous incident," the CM said in a social media post late on Sunday.

He demanded that the wrong-doers should be duly punished and that the neighbouring state should provide necessary compensation to the victims' families.

"I urge the Karnataka government to take appropriate action to prevent such an incidents from happening again," Vijay added.

Expressing shock over the "killing" of three persons of Tamil origin, DMK president M K Stalin termed it a "brutal and inhuman act" and urged the Tamil Nadu government not to remain "silent as it did on the Mekedatu dam issue."

The fatal incident occurred early on Saturday in the dense forest area under the Shagya range of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, where forest personnel, acting on information about suspected poaching activity, encountered four men. Of them, one escaped.

Hanur Police have registered an FIR against forest officials involved in the incident under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with punishment for murder, after a formal complaint was lodged by the wife of one of the deceased, officials said.

Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar reiterated that he had ordered a magistrate's probe and assured that the government would provide compensation.

The CM said the officials would place before the inquiry information on the circumstances surrounding the firing, including whether the alleged offenders had fired at the forest personnel in self-defence and whether they had themselves opened fire.

Meanwhile, a source said the opposition parties were planning to raise this issue in the Assembly today.