A major war of words broke out between Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam and Maharashtra’s Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Saturday over the killing of tigress ‘Avni’ last week, with Nirupam alleging a possible nexus between the international poaching mafia and the Minister and Mungantiwar threatening to file a defamation suit against the former.
Addressing a news conference jointly with animal activists here, Nirupam demanded the removal of Mungantiwar from the State Cabinet, his arrest and setting up of a CBI inquiry against the latter over the killing of tigress Avni in the forests of Pandharkawada in Yavatmal district last week.
The elusive tigress T1, better known as Avni of Pandharkawada hills — that had allegedly mauled as many as 13 persons to death during the past two years in Yavatmal district in Vidarbha region in Maharashtra — was shot dead by a State Government-hired sharp shooter Asgar Ali, son of controversial sharp-shooter Nawab Shafath Ali Khan from Hyderabad, in the compartment number 149 of Borati forest on the night of November 2, after a massive 53-day hunt.
Nirupam said that as many as 51 tigers had died in the forests of Maharashtra between 2015 and 2017 under Mungantiwar as the State Forest Minister. “Sudhir Mungantiwar resumed office as the Forest Minister in the year 2014. Since then, 14, 16 and 21 tigers have died in the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively in Maharashtra. The number of tiger deaths in the year 2017 is second highest in the country after Madhya Pradesh. India’s biggest tiger Jay has been missing too. Does this bitter reality sound normal to Mungantiwar?,” the city Congress chief asked.
“It is highly possible that Mungantiwar could be in nexus with the International poaching mafias. It is clear that our national animal isn’t safe under Mungantiwar’s rule,” Nirupam alleged.
Nirupam charged that despite the National Tiger Conservative Authority’s mandate of that a surveillance system should be installed in every tiger reserve in the country, Mungantiwar had failed to install such a system in any of the tiger reserves in the state. He said that the Maharashtra government floated two tenders – once in August 2016 and in March 2016 – for installation of surveillance systems in tiger reserves in the state, but the tenders were scrapped on both the occasions.
“When a surveillance system was installed on a pilot basis in Chanda forest in Chandrapur district, Mungantiwar had admitted that the location of the tigers and the activities of the poachers could both be tracked using the surveillance system. Is this why he hasn’t installed it in Maharashtra so that the poaching mafias can continue to kill tigers for huge monetary benefits?,” Nirupam asked.
Miffed with Nirupam’s charge linking him with the international poaching mafia, Mungantiwar threatened to file a defamation suit against the Mumbai Congress chief in the Chandrapur district court.