THENI: A man was killed after a forest department personnel fired at him when he allegedly trespassed into a protected forest area near Cumbum in Theni district on late Saturday night.
According to sources, the deceased man was identified as Eswaran of Kullagoundanpatti near Cumbum. Eswaran, who was an agricultural labourer, reportedly ventured out on Saturday night and wandered into a protected forest area under the Gudalur range. He was warned to not trespass by forest department personnel on patrol as hunting and poaching is prohibited there. But, one of the forest department staff fired a shot at him as allegedly he refused while also having a knife on him.
The body of the deceased was sent for post mortem examination to Theni government medical college hospital. The forest department and Theni district police were investigating. Meanwhile, on Sunday morning, relatives of Eswaran protested in front of Cumbum Government Hospital demanding for his body to be brought to Cumbum. Police held talks to pacify them.
