- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay condemned the shooting of three suspected Tamil poachers in Karnataka
- The victims, Antony Sami, John Rose Peter, and Kumar, were shot by Karnataka forest officials on August 15
- Karnataka forest department claimed a gunfight occurred after suspected poachers fired at personnel
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay has condemned the shooting of three Tamil men in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district. Calling the explanation provided by the Karnataka forest department "unacceptable", he demanded a thorough probe into the deaths.
"Anthony Sami, John Rose Peter, and Kumar, who were Tamils residing in villages in the Hanur taluk of Chamarajanagar district in Karnataka, were shot dead by Karnataka Forest Department officials in the early hours of August 15, 2026, in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary area. I strongly condemn these killings," he said in a post on social media platform X.
கர்நாடகாவின் சாம்ராஜ் நகர் மாவட்டம், ஹனூர் தாலுக்காவில் உள்ள கிராமங்களில் வசித்து வந்த தமிழர்களான அந்தோணி சாமி, ஜான் ரோஸ் பீட்டர், குமார் ஆகியோர், 2026 ஆகஸ்ட் 15 அன்று அதிகாலையில், காவிரி வனவிலங்கு சரணாலயப் பகுதியில், கர்நாடக வனத் துறையினரால் சுட்டுக் கொல்லப்பட்டது வேதனை...
— TVK Vijay (@TVKVijayHQ) August 16, 2026
"The Karnataka government must provide all necessary assistance to the families of the victims," he added.
Early this morning, suspected poachers had allegedly entered the forest to hunt wildlife. Acting on a tip-off, forest officials had rushed to the area.
Sources said the poachers had allegedly opened fire at forest personnel, who retaliated, leading to a gunfight. Three men, suspected of being poachers, were killed in the exchange of fire. The men were identified as Antony Swamy, Peter and Kumar.
Some documents and other materials, including guns, have been seized. The postmortem examination is being conducted.
"I received the information around 5 am about the forest department personnel conducting an encounter with those who had gone to hunt animals," said Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
"The forest department officials came and gave me the first-hand information. Their guns have been seized and that two bags of meat of wild animals had also been seized. One person had escaped," Shivakumar said.
"Regarding who all were involved in the encounter in the forest and their protection -- they have also provided information that they had shot our forest personnel who were involved there," the Chief Minister said.
Shivakumar said he has already ordered an inquiry by a magistrate. "I have also said that there should be a proper response and appropriate action," he said. Compensation will be paid to the families, he added, pointing out that the details were yet to be finalised.
