Veerappan Jr involved in Palar river shooting

BENGALURU: The Tamil Nadu forest department has obtained arrest warrants of two notorious poachers, one of whom was released from jail a few months ago. Both of them were involved in the shooting incident reported on April 11 at Palar river in M M Hill Wildlife Sanctuary on Karnataka and Tamil Nadu borders.

Based on the identification by the Tamil Nadu forest staff and mobile records, the investigating team has booked cases on Saravanan alias Mari Veerappan and his close aide Veeran alias Vakil. Saravanan, a resident of Govindapadi in Karnataka, operates in the forests of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. 

“In total seven members were present when there was an exchange of fire with Karnataka foresters at Palar river. After retaliation, the poachers ran from the site leaving behind arms and wild meat collected from their hunting. As of now we have got an arrest warrant for Sharavan and Veeran, and the search for other members is on,” the officer said.

The officer added that Saravanan, who is also wanted by the TN forest department, faces a case under the Arms Act at Mettur police station and a wildlife offence in Chennapatti forest range. “Once the accused are netted, we can bust the network of their clientele,” the officer said.

Wildlife experts are now calling for strict action against Saravanan and his gang members. “Already several cases have been filed against Saravanan in Karnataka and there has been no follow-up. He was brought to Karnataka from Salem jail for investigation. It’s time Saravanan is sent inside for a very long time,” said a wildlife activist.

Craze for deer meat

Saravanan is said to have a craze for wild meat, especially that of a spotted deer. He supplies meat to select hotels and customers to earn money for alcohol. It’s said that there could be 20-25 members in his gang, who operate in Erode, Mettur and M M Hills. Furthermore, the weapon that was recovered at the site of the Palar shooting site is said to be Saravanan’s newest weapon, possibly locally made in Tamil Nadu. There could be more such arms with the gang members, suspect police and forest teams.