Mumbai: The committee constituted by the Maharashtra government to probe the killing of man-eater tigress Avni is a “farce”, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said on Saturday.
In a statement, he demanded that a panel be formed under a retired judge to probe the tigress’ killing.
The state government has come under fire over the death of the tigress, who was believed to have turned a man-eater and killed 13 people in the last two years in Yavatmal district.
The big cat was shot dead in an operation in a forest in Yavatmal district last Friday. The killing of T1, as the tigress was officially known, led to an outrage among animal lovers and wildlife organisations.
“Those who had given the ‘supari’ (contract) to kill the tigress have been made members of the (probe) committee. The committee set up is a farce,” Thackeray alleged.
Taking a dig at senior ally BJP, Thackeray said if Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis backed state Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar saying he could not be held responsible for the killing, why did Prime Minister Narendra Modi take credit for the surgical strike, when he had not himself conducted it.
However, state Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said if Thackeray feels the committee is a “farce”, then the state government is willing to form another panel under the Sena chief’s leadership, if he so desires.
“Uddhavji is an important figure in the alliance between the BJP and the Sena. If he does not want to head a committee under him, he should realise I have already asked the chief minister to appoint a committee under retired Supreme Court judges,” he said. (PTI)
