Alerted by their higher-ups, Forest Department officials on Sunday arrested Manjunath, 23, a resident of Jewargi, on the charge of hunting a porcupine.
According to the officials, Manjunath posted on TikTok, a video-sharing social networking site, a clip that showed the hunted and smoked porcupine. Procupine is a protected animal under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act. The video went viral and eventually caught the attention of officials at Aranya Bhavan, who in turn alerted the Kalaburagi forest officers. “We tracked down Manjunath, a resident of Jewargi. During preliminary interrogation, he revealed that the exact location of hunting was a forest area at Sindagi taluk in the neighbouring Vijayapura district.
There were three more persons with him –– Bagappa, 23, Bhimappa, 19, and Nagesh, 20 — who are from Sindagi and are all absconding, officials said.
“We have registered a complaint and will hand over Manjunath to the Vijayapura forest officials, who will register an FIR,” Vaanathi M.M., DCF, Kalaburagi, told The Hindu.
