Three accused arrested in connection with the death of a tiger in Nilgiris district

Coimbatore: According to authorities, three suspects have been taken into custody in relation to the killing of a tiger in the Nilgiris district. The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has instructed that patrols in the region be stepped up starting on December 1.

Authorities said that within 12 hours after finding the tiger’s corpse, the three defendants were taken into custody. The suspects have been identified by the police as Vignesh (32) who works at a scrap business in Gudalur, Maarimuthu (33) and Manikandan (36) who works as a daily wage laborer.

On Thursday, the Rapid Response Team (RRT) and dog squad will assist in a combing operation in the Gudalur range to find snares.

The police claim that the three defendants have been mentioned in several police cases, found guilty in a small number of them, and that other cases are still ongoing. Officials also said that they had confessed to hunting wild boar in the vicinity.

Their homes were searched by Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Karuppaiyah, and identical cables used for snaring were found by the police. According to investigators, snares were also found in their homes.