Five persons, including four tourists, were arrested after they shot and killed a Malabar giant squirrel and a barking deer in the Ketti valley on Monday.

The five were identified as V. Manikandan from Santhoor in Ketti, the owner of MK Cottage, a resort functioning in the area, and four tourists - M. Suleiman alias Solomon, from Madurai, C. John Armstrong Babu, D. Jebakumar, and D. Ramaiah, all from Thoothukudi.

The four men were staying in the cottage owned by Manikandan. And, the five men had gone for a trip around the cottage on Monday morning. Manikandan had used an air gun he owned to shoot and kill a Malabar giant squirrel. The men had brought the carcass of the animal to the resort and had cooked most of it and consumed it.

Later in the evening, they went out in their vehicle when they spotted a barking deer by the side of the road, when Manikandan is once again alleged to have shot and killed the animal. The men loaded the animal onto the vehicle and fled from the spot.

Local residents heard the gunshots and informed the police. During a vehicle check, police stopped the vehicle on suspicion, and checked the car. Forest department officials said they discovered blood and fragments of fur belonging to the barking deer inside the car, and took the owner of the vehicle, Manikandan, into custody.

They then searched a small shed next to his property where they discovered the remains of the carcasses of both the Malabar giant squirrel and the barking deer. All five of the men involved in hunting the two animals were charged under sections of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, arrested and remanded to judicial custody.

Assistant Conservator of Forests, K. Saravanakumar, who headed the team formed by the District Forest Officer (Nilgiris division), D. Guruswamy, said that during investigations, it was revealed that the owner of the resort, Manikandan was the prime instigator in hunting wildlife. “We will probe into whether he has been responsible for the hunting of other wildlife too in the past,” said Mr. Saravanakumar.