Bengaluru, 5 Nov 

Forest, Ecology, and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre has ordered a CID investigation after a video surfaced showing a few people photographing and filming three newborn tiger cubs under vehicle lights in an area that is suspected to be the Bedaguli forest area of the Punajanur range in the BRT (Biligiri Ranganatha Tiger) Reserve, Chamarajanagar district. 

Officials believe that the mother has died, as the tigress hasn’t been located yet.

In a written directive to the Additional Chief Secretary of the Forest Department, Khandre stated that complaints had been received alleging that certain individuals, including those linked to an organisation previously charged in a 2015 forest crime case, entered the forest, filmed the tiger cubs under vehicle headlights, and even touched them—violating the Wildlife Protection Act. 

Meanwhile, discrepancies and confusion have arisen between the press release issued by the BRT Forest Division on 15 October. NGOs have alleged that the funds have been misused. A social activist, Dinesh Kallahalli, has urged the Karnataka government to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter. 

The incident allegedly occurred on 13 October, 2024, in the Punajanur Range.  The cubs, about 10 days old, were handled and filmed by individuals, including Javed, Rafeeq, and representatives of the Wild Caine NGO.

Kallahalli alleges that the mother tiger may have been killed and that the incident is linked to a 2015 tiger bone and claw smuggling case in the same range.  Kallahalli has written to the Forest Minister, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), and Director of BRT Tiger Reserve, seeking immediate action.

Khandre, therefore, deemed it appropriate to hand over the case to the CID for detailed investigation.