Tiger remains sent for confirmatory tests
4 Jun 2009, 0557 hrs IST, TNN
PANAJI: Goa’s forest department on Wednesday dispatched the assortment of bones, fur and teeth recovered recently from the site of the tiger killing at Keri to the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun for forensic tests and expect a confirmation to provide a strategic boost to the investigations.
“If these are confirmed to be parts of a tiger, it will be the beginning of the case and we can set to work on finding out why it was killed, the persons involved and how its carcass was disposed off,” Shashi Kumar, Chief Conservator of Forest told TOI, adding that, “It will be definitely crucial for the case as all loose ends can be connected.”
Officials achieved a breakthrough in the investigations when they found the remains on Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the site of the killing in a nullah and at an adjoining site in a cashew plantation where they were sought to be burnt in order to destroy evidence. Both sites are in Keri.
Forest officials are expecting results of forensic tests on the material, which was attached and sealed during the search operations, to arrive in a week’s time. Till the finding of the tests arrive, the department has time to plan the future course of action. “We will plan the future investigation and process filing of the chargesheet,” sources said. Regarding the criticism by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) stating that it had not been informed by the Goa forest department about the tiger killing in Keri, the CCF said that the NTCA’s jurisdiction is in project tiger areas alone. “NTCA is not directly related to the matter,” he said.
But as the case is sensitive, the forest department has kept authorities at a higher level posted about the status of the case. “The matter is serious and we have informed higher officials in Delhi about the case,” he explained.
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