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Foresters did not use cow as bait: Asifabad DFO

District Forest Officer Shantaram said that the cow was accidentally killed by the big cat when it was grazing in a dense forest

By Telangana Today

Published Date - 16 January 2021, 08:32 PM

Foresters did not use cow as bait: Asifabad DFO — Kumram Bheem Asifabad DFO Shantaram addresses pressmen in Bejjur mandal centre on Saturday

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: District Forest Officer Shantaram refuted the allegations that the forest officials had used a cow as bait for trapping the killer tiger. Speaking to newsmen at Bejjur mandal here on Saturday, the forest official found fault with the news channels and a religious organisation Bajrang Dal for levelling these allegations.

He said that the cow was accidentally killed by the big cat when it was grazing in a dense forest. He informed that compensation would be paid to the cattle owner. He was confident that the tiger would soon be caught and shifted to Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad.

The IFS officer said that 120 CCTV camera traps were installed to track the movement of the tiger. He said that the number of cameras would be doubled if need be. He added that over 150 staffers were engaged in the job of catching the animal, braving odds. The DFO said that the operation might last for months or end in a couple of days. He informed that the killer tiger was showing aberrant behavior. He stated that they were waiting patiently for trapping it. He reiterated they were following protocol of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in accomplishing the mission.

Earlier, Shiva Goud, the district convenor of Bajrang Dal lodged a complaint with the Bejjur police demanding action against the forest officials alleging that they had used a cow as bait. D Sagar, Bejjur Sub-Inspector told ‘Telangana Today’ that they began a probe into the allegations, though no case was registered.

Meanwhile, a calf belonging to tribal farmer Kodapa Dashru of Nandigaon village in Penchikalpet mandal was killed by a tiger in the forests of this region on Friday. The incident came to light on Saturday. Dwellers of forest fringe villages requested the foresters to take steps to shift the killer tiger to a zoo and avoid human loss.

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