Animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi, MP, has written to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai seeking a probe into the electrocution of a tusker, which came to light early this year in Hassan.
Ms. Gandhi has alleged that a Range Forest officer in Hassan was trying to protect the accused in the case, buckling under pressure from Prajwal Revanna, MP.
Chennammanakere Achukattu Police (CKA police) in Bengaluru arrested three persons on March 18 while they were looking for buyers for tusks. They seized tusks weighing 29 kg from them. Upon further investigation, the police found the carcass of the elephant at Veerapura, near Hassan. They took samples of the skull for further examination. It was alleged that the accused electrocuted the animal, aged about 25, and took the tusks. The accused had dug a trench using an earthmover to bury it.
Ms. Gandhi, in her letter, said that animal rights activists, led by Sharath Babu, had informed the police about the tusks. The Bengaluru police had booked the case. “Local MP Prajwal Revanna tried to bring illegal pressure to have the case transferred to local Forest Department so that the case could be closed,” she alleged.
Local officers of the Forest Department registered a fresh case in Hassan and arrested two more persons and encouraged the rest to abscond so that CK Achukattu police could not arrest them. The accused approached the court, claiming duplication of work by two different agencies. Thereby all the accused were able to obtain bail with the active connivance of the Hassan Forest staff. Subsequently, the Bengaluru police transferred the case to Hassan RFO. She accused that the RFO Hassan was the main culprit behind “subversion of the law”.
Ms. Gandhi said she would be grateful if the entire case was taken away from the Hassan Forest Department and given to the Vigilance Department. “RFO should also be investigated for corruption,” she said.
DCF denies charge
When The Hindu contacted Ravindra Kumar, DCF (Vigilance) of Hassan, he officer said the allegations against the RFO were not true. “We sought the transfer of the case to Hassan with a genuine intention to probe the case and ensure that the guilty were punished. The incident had happened in our area. Our RFO arrested two persons in the case,” he said.
