Criminal cases will be filed against violators

FOREST officials have decided to file criminal cases against people violating rules under the Wildlife Protection Act and not just limit themselves to imposing fines in view of a tusker attacking a man, who was taking a selfie, in Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR) on Sunday.

- BOSKY KHANNA @Bengaluru

A video of the incident, which went viral, led to debates on various platforms of social media. While some wildlife enthusiasts alleged that "incompetence" and "crowd mismanagement" by forest officials led to the incident, others stated that lack of awareness among tourists was the reason for it.

Around 5.30 pm on Sunday, a vehicle stopped on NH 212 (also known as NH 766), the road through BTR connecting Tamil Nadu and Mysuru, and the man came out of it to take a selfie with the tusker. The tusker, which was on the other side of the road, got agitated by shrill horns and the presence of people there and attacked the man.