Following a hue and cry over the killing of the menacing T1 tigress, which had killed 13 persons, in Pandharkawda tehsil of Yavatmal district, Maharashtra Government and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) have constituted separate committees to conduct inquiry into the killing.
Sudhir Mungantiwar, Forest Minister of Maharashtra, on Friday ordered an enquiry through a committee to find out whether the guidelines prescribed in Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) were followed in the matter of killing of T1 tigress. S H Patil, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, is the Chairman of this committee and Nitin Kakodkar, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, is its convenor.
The panel comprises Bilal, a representative of Wildlife Institute of India, and Anish Andheria, President of Wildlife Conservation Trust, as members. Meanwhile, NTCA also constituted a separate team to ‘inquire into the final operation carried out by the State of Maharashtra in eliminating’ T1 tigress. Hemant Kamdi, Assistant Inspector General (NTCA), Regional Office, Nagpur, is the convenor of NTCA-appointed committee. The panel comprises O P Kaler, retired Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest; and Jose Louies, Deputy Director and Chief, Wildlife Control Division and Communication, Wildlife Trust of India. The team has been directed to submit its inquiry report by November 26.
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