1 week ago
Karnataka Forest Shootings: 1991 Order Delays Murder Inquiry
Three men were shot and killed by forest officials in Karnataka on August 15.
The officials said the men were suspected poachers who fired first.
The victims’ families said the men were only looking for lost cattle.
A fourth man, Joseph Mahima Das, escaped but was later reported missing.
Police registered a murder case after a complaint from one victim’s wife.
However, police have not started their investigation yet.
A 1991 state order requires a magisterial inquiry before officers can be arrested or prosecuted.
The inquiry and a government review will decide whether the shooting was justified or whether criminal action is needed.
Forest officials shot three alleged poachers in Karnataka’s Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary on August 15.
The victims’ families said the men were searching for lost cattle and were killed unlawfully.
Forest authorities said the men opened fire first and that officials responded in self-defence.
Hanur police registered a murder case, but have not begun investigating pending a magisterial inquiry.
A 1991 order requires the inquiry and government review before criminal proceedings against forest officers.
- Who
- Forest officials, the deceased Antony Swamy, John Rose Peter and Sebastian David Kumar, their families, Hanur police and the state government are involved.
- What
- Three men were shot during a forest search, prompting a murder case and a pending magisterial inquiry into whether the officials used unlawful force.
- Where
- The incident occurred in the Hanur region of Karnataka’s Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.
- When
- The shooting occurred around 5 a.m. on August 15, after the night of August 14-15; the inquiry report was expected around August 22.
- Why
- Officials said they fired after allegedly seeing gunfire from suspected poachers, while the victims’ families disputed the account.
Victims’ families and accountability concerns
Forest officials and self-defence justification
What the men were doing
Victims’ families and accountability concerns
The families said the three men entered the forest to search for lost cattle.
Forest officials and self-defence justification
Forest officials said all four men were poachers, citing the alleged discovery of guns and animal meat.
Why the shooting occurred
Victims’ families and accountability concerns
The families alleged that the men were killed in cold blood over suspicions of poaching.
Forest officials and self-defence justification
Officials and Forest Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the men opened fire first and that staff responded in self-defence, with no malicious intent.
Whether police should proceed
Victims’ families and accountability concerns
The murder complaint supports investigating whether the deaths were unlawful killings.
Forest officials and self-defence justification
A former forest officer said registering the FIR was legally improper and argued that the 1991 order protects officers until the magisterial inquiry is completed.
Key facts
- Victims
- Antony Swamy, 50; John Rose Peter, 43; and Sebastian David Kumar, 35.
- Survivor
- Joseph Mahima Das, 45, reportedly escaped and was later found in hospital before being reported missing.
- Police case
- Hanur police registered a murder case against unnamed forest officials on August 15 after a complaint by Lourde Mary, Swamy’s wife.
- 1991 order
- A Karnataka government order dated September 20, 1991, says police should not proceed against officers involved in firing until a magisterial inquiry recommends action.
- Inquiry
- The inquiry must assess whether the use of force was unnecessary, unwarranted or excessive; the government will review its findings.
- Evidence cited by officials
- Forest authorities said two country-made guns and animal meat were found near the shooting site.
- Related village cases
- The forest department filed cases against villagers accused of vandalising forest camps after the deaths, but did not file poaching complaints against the deceased men.
Quotes
1991 Karnataka government immunity order
Government order governing forest officers’ use of firearms
“According to the 1991 order granting immunity to forest officers, a police case can be taken up in encounter cases only if a magisterial inquiry finds wrongdoing. At present, the magisterial inquiry report is awaited”
indianexpress.com
“The power to use firearms, is only meant to stop the criminal and hence the purpose should be to injure, rather than kill. Firing should not be done indiscriminately and vindictively.”
indianexpress.com
Dr Malathi Priya
Chief Conservator of Forests for Chamarajanagar district
“based on the evidence it is certain that those who entered the forest were poachers”
indianexpress.com
indianexpress.com
Sources
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