Won’t accept body, say kin of man allegedly shot down by Forest Dept. of Karnataka

Salem

The relatives of the deceased person, who was allegedly shot down by the Karnataka Forest Department, refused to receive the body and continued their protest on Saturday.

The body of M. Karavadaiyan alias Raja, 40, of Karaikadu in Kolathur near Mettur, was found in River Palar in Erode district on Friday. It was sent to the Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem. It was alleged that the Karnataka Forest Department shot him down while he went to hunt animals on the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border on Tuesday night.

His relatives sought a government job for a family member and urged the police to register a case against the Karnataka Forest Department. They also announced that they would not receive the body until their demands were met. On Saturday morning, Salem District Superintendent of Police R. Sivakumar and Revenue Department officials held talks with the family members of Raja at Mettur and assured them that the authorities would look into their demands. Thereafter, the family members agreed to receive the body. But after they reached the hospital in Salem, they demanded compensation from the Karnataka Forest Department. Later, the relatives, along with Mettur MLA S. Sathasivam, came to the Salem Collectorate and met Collector S. Karmegam.

Mr. Sathasivam told reporters that the Collector spoke to his counterpart in Karnataka. He assured them that the Tamil Nadu checkpoint would be shifted from Kolathur to a place near the Karnataka border immediately. “The Collector also assured us that he would look into our demands after the post-mortem report is ready. If our demands are not met, we will stage a protest with the post-mortem report at the border,” Mr. Sathasivam added. Around 6 p.m., a post-mortem was performed at the hospital. But demanding compensation from the Karnataka Forest Department, the relatives refused to accept the body and left the hospital.