Panel set up to probe Avni’s killing

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has formed a high-level committee to probe the controversial killing of the T1 tigress Avni whose death brought the state government under attack from various quarters all over country and beyond.

Forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has asked his department to form the committee under the chief forest officer of the state.

This committee will probe the killing, check whether or not all the procedures were followed and submit its report to the government.

The state’s chief forest officer S.H. Patil, member of Wildlife Institute of India; Bilal, chief of Wildlife Conservation Trust; and Anish Andheria will be members of this committee.

Nitin Kakodkar, upper chief forest officer of state, will be coordinator of this committee.

The state government has asked the committee to probe the circumstances that lead to the killing of Avni as well as procedure that was followed.
The hunters killed the tigress last week in Yavatmal district. She left her two 10 months old cubs behind.

Wildlife activists as well as opposition parties condemned this killing across nation and agitations were organised in New Delhi, Mumbai and all major cities.

Even Union minister Maneka Gandhi condemned the killing and declared that she would take legal action. Ms Gandhi also asked for the resignation of state forest minister Mr Mungantiwar.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, however, rejected the demand of resignation, saying that Mr Mungantiwar had not done anything wrong and the killing was necessary. He has also backed the forest department’s decision to kill the tigress. At the same time, he promised a high-level inquiry into the killing. The committee that was formed on Friday is the part of that inquiry.