Shootout in Cauvery Reserve Forest: Catholic Sabha Udupi Pradesh Demands High-Level Probe
Udupi: The incident in which three people were killed in firing by forest department personnel in the Chikkallur Reserve Forest area of Hanur taluk in Chamarajanagar district has deeply shocked the Christian community. The state government must conduct an appropriate investigation into the incident and ensure justice for the community, said Melvin Aranha Shirva, president of Catholic Sabha Udupi Pradesh.
It is deeply shocking that Hanur residents Antony Swamy (50), John Rose Peter (42), and Antony Kumar (33) were killed in firing by forest department personnel in the Chikkallur Reserve Forest area of the Cauvery Wildlife Division in the early hours of Saturday. Even if they had committed any wrongdoing, shooting them dead cannot be justified.
The Christian community does not support illegal entry into protected forest areas, hunting, poaching, or any other unlawful activities. At the same time, carrying out a killing in response to any alleged wrongdoing is also not an appropriate course of action. The conduct of the forest officials and personnel cannot be condoned, he said.
The state government has a responsibility to establish the facts of the incident and ensure justice for the families of the deceased. In this regard, the government should immediately order a high-level investigation into the incident.
He further demanded that appropriate action be taken against the officials found responsible, maximum compensation be provided to the families of the deceased by the Forest Department, and one member from each bereaved family be provided with a government job.