Six persons, including three women, who hunted a tiger in the Nilgiris forest area and attempted to sell its skin and claws in Sathyamangalam in 2023, were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
On February 19, 2023, residents of Arasur village in Sathyamangalam noticed the movement of four strangers living in a tent pitched along the Sathyamangalam–Erode Road and alerted the Sathyamangalam Forest Division. The group was ostensibly selling wool and blankets.
A team inspected the tent and discovered the skin, teeth, claws, and skeleton of a tiger. The four were identified as Mangal (28), Sunita (35), and Bimala (51), all from Punjab, and Ramchandar (50) from Rajasthan. All belonged to the Bawaria community. They were staying in the area to sell the tiger parts.
Further inquiries revealed that the four, along with Ratna (40) and Krishnan (59), both from Punjab, had stayed in the Avalanche forest near Udhagamandalam, where they hunted the tiger. After killing the animal, they removed its skin and skeleton, following which four of them went to Sathyamangalam to look for buyers. All six later admitted to the crime. A case was registered, and they were arrested and remanded in prison.
On Thursday (August 21, 2025), Judicial Magistrate P. Ranjith Kumar, Sathyamangalam, found them guilty and sentenced each of them to three years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹25,000 for illegally entering the forest and committing the offence. They were subsequently lodged at Coimbatore Central Prison.
Published – August 22, 2025 07:10 pm IST
