Villagers, booked for killing big cat, mobilise locals for support
Forest officials fear violent protests, admin says ready for contingency
ALWAR: District administration officials and wildlife activists here are anticipating a violent protest in the area by locals who were booked recently for chasing and burning a tranquilised panther alive near Sariska Tiger Reserve.
The accused villagers have been touring neighbourhood hamlets with loudspeakers, trying to mobilise the crowd in their favour. They proclaimed that they have been charged under false cases of burning a panther alive and beating up forest officials.
A meeting to gather support has also been scheduled for Monday by the members of Bharatiya Kisan Union. “Local people have been asked to attend the meeting with lathis in hand,” a source, close to the union, said.
“The incident has infuriated the locals here.They have almost stopped sharing food, milk and tea with forest employes of Kushalgarh,Madhogarh and Akbarpur,” Prem Patel, a member of the union, said.
Patel further clarified that people have been asked to attend the meeting with lathis because the venue is close to the reserve and leopard attacks are common there. “We want justice from the STR adminstration.They have registered cases against people they could identify,” he added.
Jaikishan Gujar of Parsa ka bas village alleged that forest officials and district officials struck a deal with us on March 18 that no cases will be registered against anybody but they back- tracked on their promise later.
“If the adminstration tries to stop and intervene during the meeting then there could be dire consequences, the responsibility of which would lie with the government officials,” Gujar said.
The forest officials of Sariska Tiger Reserve have sought security from the district administration.
Deputy field director of STR, Balaji Kari, has written to district collector Muktanand Agarwal asking for security. In the letter he mentioned that forest employees have been receiving threats for the last few days and they fear treading into the STR alone.
Field director of STR, RS Shekhawat, has also written to the principal chief conservator of forests for help fearing that Monday’s meeting may lead to a violence in the area and that the issue should be brought to the state government’s notice.
This wildlife activists here are also living in fear. They carried out a silent march in the city on Saturday and handed a memorandum to additional district magistrate Hamendra Nagar raising security concerns.
Wildlife warden Vasudeo Sharma and Anil Jain have requested the district administration to stall the meeting and arrest the culprits at the earliest.
Jungle watch secretary Sanjeev Karagwal told HT that these people are trying to pressurise STR officials and district adminstration so that they take back the cases. Echoing similar sentiments, secretary of Wild Cat Conservation Society, Nishant Singh, Sisodia said that paramilitary forces should be deployed to prevent any loss of life and property.
The ADM, however, assured that the strict action will be taken against anyone who break the law.
Collector Muktanand Agarwal told Hindustan Times that the villagers have been asked to postpone the meeting but they refused.”They do not have permission to conduct this meeting.We are fully prepared for any contigency and no one will be allowed to create any ruckus here,” he said.