New Delhi : A man-eater tigress named Avni, who was allegedly responsible for the death of 13 people in the Pandharkawda forest in Maharashtra, was on Friday night killed in Yavatmal. The Maharashtra Forest Department had earlier issued shoot-at-sight orders against the tigress.
On October 16, the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench had sought reply about the change in the sequence of steps to be taken to address the issue as mentioned in the PCCF’s (Principal Chief Conservator of Forests) order as opposed to the CCF’s (Chief Conservator of Forests) order.
HC refuses to modify shoot-at-sight order against tigress T1
Avni was first spotted in the forests of Yavatmal in 2012 and used to live in Pandharkaoda Forest in Yavatmal district with her two nine-month-old cubs. Environment activists have said that there have been multiple human-animal conflicts in the region due to illegal cattle grazing, encroachment, and expansion of a large private cement factory. According to Maharashtra forest department Avni had killed 13 humans in the past 2 years.
The forest department had even hired controversial marksman Shafat Ali Khan. The tigress was shot by Khan’s son Asghar Ali Khan (35) around 11 pm. According to a report by ToI, the order to shoot the tigress were issued by PCCF (wildlife) AK Misra in the name of Nawab Shafath Ali Khan but he was not present at the spot when the tigress was shot.
DNA evidence had linked her to 5 of the 13 bodies.
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