BJP demands judicial inquiry into killing of three persons

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A crowd gathered outside the mortuary at Mysore Medical College and Research Institute in Mysuru on Sunday, where the bodies of the three suspected poachers were brought for post-mortem. | Photo Credit: M.A. Sriram

Demanding a judicial inquiry into the encounter in Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in which three persons were killed, Leader of Opposition R. Ashok on Sunday urged that the officials involved in the encounter should remain off the duty till the truth comes out.

Seeking clarity on whether the encounter was fake or genuine, Mr. Ashok said this was the first such incident in the Forest Department in the last ten years. “If someone commits a mistake, they should be warned or arrested. But in this incident, they were shot directly in the chest. The bodies were taken to Mysuru even before the police could conduct mahazar. The department has also not disclosed if there were any cases of previous offences against them. “There is a vast difference between what the people are saying and what the department officials are saying. Departmental inquiry will not bring a solution. A judicial inquiry is needed for the truth to come out.”

Meanwhile Union Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy questioned the need for opening fire on them and wondered if they were dreaded forest poachers like Veerappan to be killed. Speaking to media persons in Guledagudda, Mr. Kumaraswamy argued that as per norms, the forest officials could have nabbed them alive or shot at their legs if they had indulged in poaching and if they had tried to attack them.

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