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The brutal killing of tigress called Avni has sparked off a war of words between Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar. Mugantiwar, took strong objection to her criticism of the state government , saying she “lacks information” on the issue and can order a high-level probe if she wants to.
Mungantiwar’s statement comes a day after the Union Women and Child Development minister lashed out at the Maharashtra government over the “ghastly murder” of the tigress, T1, as she was known officially, calling it a “straight case of crime”.
The tigress, survived by her two 10 months old cubs, was believed to be responsible for the deaths of 13 people in the past two years. She was shot dead by sharp-shooter Asgar Ali in the Borati forest in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district Friday as part of an operation.
In a tweet , Gandhi had stated, “It is nothing but a straight case of crime. Despite several requests from many stakeholders, (Sudhir) Mungantiwar, Minister for Forests, Maharashtra, gave orders for the killing.”
It is nothing but a straight case of crime. Despite several requests from many stakeholders, Sh @SMungantiwar, Minister for Forests, #Maharashtra, gave orders for the killing. #Justice4TigressAvni
— Maneka Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) November 4, 2018
The Union minister had said she is going to take up the matter “very strongly” with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
In his reaction Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said : “It’s sad for us too that a decision was taken to kill tigress Avni. We’ll still probing the issue to see if there were any lapses and if the procedure was followed. Maneka-ji’s words were harsh but we should understand her feelings as she is an animal lover.”
