Bengaluru: The Aug 15 Hanur encounter in which three hunters were killed has blown the lid off a larger malaise lurking in the woods at the trijunction of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala: sudden and shocking proliferation of modern, imported and automatic firearms, whose firepower is definitely more deadly than that of forest personnel.The forests of Bandipur — a safe and popular weekend escape for Bengaluru’s young crowd — have become a hunting ground, with miscreants possessing guns imported from or manufactured in the US, Germany, Switzerland and Taiwan, besides several rounds of live ammunition. These include sub-machine guns — a strong suggestion that poachers may have access to a far more sophisticated arsenal than previously known.“Till now, we’ve seen cheap country-made guns being used by poachers. Recent raids on a farmhouse in Karnataka have pointed to the presence of these advanced weapons,” a senior forest department official said.The latest seizure came during a raid on a farmhouse at Kebbepura village in the Kundakere Range of Bandipur Tiger Reserve on Aug 18. According to a wildlife offence case registered by forest officials before the civil judge and judicial magistrate at Gundlupet, Chamarajanagar district, the seized weapons included a Swiss-made SG552-2 Commando assault rifle, a German-made APX single-barrel rifle, a Taiwanese HFC airsoft submachine gun, an old revolver, a JPX Jet Protector, a US-made Marlin rifle and several rounds of live ammunition.The discovery is particularly worrying because Bandipur is not an isolated forest patch. Its location along the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu-Kerala landscape makes it part of a vast and interconnected wildlife corridor. The focus of the department has shifted from individual poachers to the possibility of organised networks supplying firearms to hunters operating in protected forests.Alarmed by the developments, forest minister Ramalinga Reddy has written to home minister Priyank Kharge, seeking a coordinated crackdown on illegal weapons entering Karnataka, particularly along stretches passing through protected areas.“We were shocked to see sophisticated and advanced weapons along the protected forests. While a few of the weapons had licences, most were unlicensed and appeared to have been sourced through local supply channels. This raises serious concerns. We are chalking out plans in collaboration with officials of the Southern Range to crack down on large-scale presence of such weapons and seize all illegal firearms,” minister Reddy told TOI.Forest officials recovered 48 deer and sambar antlers, a deer skull with an antler, bones of wild animals and pelts from the farmhouse that belonged to Senetila Lang Kumer, who is at large. The weapons were registered in the name of his uncle Jacob, who is also absconding.Officials said the farmhouse manager had claimed that the weapons were sports guns or meant for game hunting. But an officer countered: “Regardless of their stated purpose, these weapons can be used to kill animals at short and medium ranges because of their firepower. Compared to the weapons carried by forest personnel, such as slide-action guns, these are far more advanced. We do not know why these firearms were kept at the farmhouse. We have registered a case under the Wildlife Protection Act,” the officer said.Activists have urged the forest department and Karnataka govt to invoke provisions of the Arms Act against those found in possession of illegal weapons. Conservation volunteers said many illegal country-made weapons are sourced through dealers and middlemen in North India.
