Miscreants blow up several anti-poaching camps in K'taka

Miscreants blow up several anti-poaching camps in K'taka

Published on: Aug 19, 2026, 12:18:53 IST

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Mysuru/Bengaluru, Unidentified miscreants allegedly blew up several anti-poaching camps in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar using explosives, Forest department sources said on Wednesday.

The attacks come amid continuing anger against the Forest Department following the killing of three alleged poachers in an exchange of fire on August 15.

The Minchinarehalla anti-poaching camp in the Kothanur zone was reportedly destroyed using dynamite and gelatin sticks. The intensity of the blast damaged the camp walls and burnt materials kept inside, sources added.

Several other anti-poaching camps in the Kothanur zone Minchinahalli, Bheemeshwari, Ollemarada Hatti, Budikere, Bandahalli and Kalidoddi were also targeted in the intervening night of August 18-19.

There were no injuries to anyone.

Reacting to the developments, Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the government would wait for the outcome of the inquiry into the August 15 killing of the three alleged poachers before commenting on the matter.

"We are not going to speak about it now. They are giving various pieces of information, but an investigation is underway. We are going very deep into the matter. Let the report come after the investigation, and then I will speak about it," Shivakumar told reporters in Bengaluru.

"Our Forest Minister is also already conducting a very detailed inquiry into the matter," he added.

The three deceased men Anthony Samy, John Rose Peter and Kumar, residents of villages in Hanur taluk of Chamarajanagar district, were shot dead by Forest Department personnel in the early hours of August 15 in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary area.

According to Karnataka authorities, forest personnel conducting an anti-poaching operation after receiving information about suspected wildlife poaching came under fire from the group, following which the personnel allegedly fired in self-defence. The three men were killed in the exchange of fire.

The issue has echoed in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, with political parties claiming the victims were Tamils and had questioned the Karnataka officials' explanation over the firing incident.

Following the incident, Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay strongly condemned the alleged killings and said the explanation given by the Karnataka Forest Department regarding the incident is unacceptable.

A fair investigation should be conducted by a high-level committee on the heinous incident, he had said in a social media post late on Sunday.

The issue also came up in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday, with members moving a call attention motion demanding a high-level probe into the forest department firing incident.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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