HC allows to tranquilise and capture of two tigers in Maha

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court today allowed the forest department of the Maharashtra government to tranquilise and capture two tigers roaming in Pandharkawada jungle in Yavatmal district.
One of these two big cats, tigress 'T-1', has killed ten people in the last one year, said forest authorities who recently ordered that she be captured and if it could not be done, shot at sight.
A division bench of Justices Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Swapna Joshi passed the directive during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by Jerryl Banait and Sarita Subramanium.
The petitioners had moved the court against the January 29 order of the principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) to either capture or shoot the tigress T-1. The PCCF had also ordered that the other tiger, a male, be captured by tranquilising.

The petitioners claimed that the animal responsible for the human deaths was not identified properly.
The identification should have been done in a scientific manner by considering camera trap photographs, pug marks and DNA profiling of scats and hairs, the PIL said.

On January 30, the high court stayed the forest department's order.
Advocate Tushar Mandlekar, Banait's lawyer, argued that there was no conclusive evidence to attribute human deaths to the tigress. The order to shoot and kill her was issued due to political pressure, the lawyer said.
According to the PIL, T-1 is not a "habituated man killer". It also demanded a special investigation team to probe all the 10 deaths attributed to her.

Advocate R L Khapre, arguing for Subramanium, claimed that no efforts were made to tranquilise the tigress and capture her.
Advocate Karthik Shukul, the forest department's lawyer, told PTI that the department sought permission to tranquilise and capture both the tigers.
The High Court lifted its stay order partially, allowing capture of both the animals, but not shooting of the tigress.
The petitioners have demanded that both the animals be relocated to some other tiger reserve.
Next hearing will be on February 6.