Our job is like that of a hangman. You can’t call him bad: Shafath Ali

Days after ‘man-eater’ tigress T1 was shot dead in a questionable operation by Asghar Ali Khan, who stood in place of his father Shafath Ali at the last moment, the father-son duo spoke with TOI about ‘half-witted NGOs’, charges of them having Naxal links, their move to file a defamation case against minister Maneka Gandhi and how hunting is in the blood of nawabs
What is your background and your family’s connection with hunting?

Shafath Ali: Handling weapons and riding horses is in my blood. We are ‘khandani’ people. My grandfather Nawab Sultan Ali Khan Bahadur was a fearless target shooter and horseman. It is in our blood to face dangers.

How many animals have you shot as a hunter before the enactment of the Wildlife Protection Act and how many afterwards?

Shafath Ali: I never hunted after the Act came into force. Before that, I visited several countries to shoot animals in safari. I have participated in around 40 operations in India and shot or tranquillized at least 50 problematic animals. I have culled thousands of wild boars. I have brought down around three to four problematic tigers painlessly, including the Tigress of Faizabad in 1976.

Wildlife activists have alleged that killing Avni was cold-blooded murder and you are ‘trigger-happy’.

Shafath Ali: My son and I did the Yavatmal operation on orders of the Maharashtra forest department upheld by the Supreme Court. My job is like that of a hangman. How can you call a hangman a nasty person?

Did you have to shoot T1?

Asghar Ali: I was disappointed I couldn’t capture the tiger alive. It was a fraction of second decision to shoot the animal when it charged at us after being hit by a tranquiliser dart.

There are allegations that the tranquilizer dart was squeezed by hand into T1 as an afterthought.

Asghar Ali: These are wild charges by NGOs.

Union minister Maneka Gandhi has accused you of having anti-national links. You had been charged under the Arms Act for supplying weapons to Maoists.

Shafath Ali: One of the police officers working with anti-Naxal intelligence agency SIB in Hyderabad wanted to buy one of our properties and my father agreed to sell it. However, the land deal didn’t go forward. This happened 30 years ago. To put pressure, they foisted a false case against me alleging that I am supplying arms to Maoists.