State to file police complaint against hunter who shot T-1
MUMBAI: Following a string of reports from the Centre, state and regional forensic lab regarding tigress T-1 or Avni’s death, the Maharashtra State Veterinary Council (MSVC) has decided to file a police complaint against the hunter Asghar Ali Khan who shot and killed T-1, and Mukhbir Sheikh, the forest staff who darted the tigress.
MSVC officials said they had written to the chief wildlife warden last month, but have not received a response so far.
“Since reports have already suggested inconsistencies and the forest department failed to respond to our notice, it amounts to a violation of section 30 of the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984. We will file a police complaint against the person who administered the dart since he is not a veterinarian, and the hunter who shot the animal before she could be tranquilised,” said Dr Shridhar Bedarkar, assistant commissioner, MSVC.
On November 2, T-1 was allegedly tranquilised and shot dead by a private hunter Asghar Ali Khan near the Borati-warud Road in Ralegaon taluka in Yavatmal, Maharashtra.
A forensic report of T-1, released by the Regional Forensic Laboratory in Nagpur, detected the presence of drugs such as ketamine and xylazine in the skin and muscle samples.
There was no trace of any drugs in the blood or any of the internal organs.
The state forest department said the duration between tranquilising the animal and shooting it was a matter of 3 to 5 seconds, which did not allow the drugs to spread internally.
“Since the tranquilising process was intramuscular and not intravenous, before the drug could act on the tigress’ carcass, she was shot dead. So there is no question of foul play,” said a senior forest officer involved in the incident.
However, independent veterinarians rubbished the claim made by the forest department. “If there is administration of drug through darting, the drugs spread across the system within seconds, and it will be detected in the blood and internal organs. In
this case, there are high chances that the drug has been administered after the animal died,” said Dr Shashank Tyagi, forensic medical expert at KEM Hospital in Parel.
A report by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) from earlier this month clearly stated that “T-1 was not shot in self-defence” and another committee report constituted by the state government said three acts including the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, were violated.