Tiger poaching case:Rajendra Kerkar faces social boycott in Keri

Tiger poaching case:Rajendra Kerkar faces social boycott in Keri
Preetu Nair, TNN
KERI: The irony couldn’t have been more stark. Outside the state, he is being awarded for his efforts in environment conservation.

In his own village, Rajendra Kerkar faces a social boycott. All because Kerkar—who with his street play ‘Do not kill the tiger’ created awareness in his village of Keri to preserve the country’s fast diminishing big cat population—exposed the killing of a tiger in the same village in TOI’s edition of April 13.

“From the time I exposed the tiger killing, the Majik community in Keri has been upset. They are constantly trying to provoke the rest of the village against me to ensure that I am socially and culturally boycotted in the village. I have also been getting threatening calls,” said Kerkar.

Until now, the environmental movement in Keri has been led by Kerkar, who was instrumental in getting the Mhadei area notified as a wildlife sanctuary. Now the very effort has made him a villain in the eyes of the 500-odd members of the Majik community, living close to the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary.

Kerkar reveals that his woes started from the time he wrote in TOI and subsequently to forest officials on April 15 alleging that a tiger had been killed in Keri near the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary in February 2009.

Immediately after this, on the night of April 18, Kerkar was called to a mello(meet) at Keri’s Kelbai temple and told that he had committed a grave crime by exposing the tiger’s killing.

28 August, 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition

Police case against probe officials

Police case against probe officials
TNN

PANAJI: Almost three months after a home guard at Panaji’s police headquarters lodged a complaint against forest personnel for wrongful confinement and causing grievous injury, Valpoi police on Wednesday registered a case against three forest officials.

Police have booked an offence under section 342 (wrongful confinement), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) read with sec 34 (common intention) of the IPC against assistant conservator of forests Anil Shetgaonkar, and range forest officers Paresh Parab and Tushidas Wadkar.

“We have registered the case and will be investigating strictly on merit,” said SP North Bosco George. Suryakant Majik in his complaint to the Valpoi police stated that he was beaten by the forest officials, which resulted in “grievous and serious” injuries. The complaint filed on May 27, notes that though he and his family had cooperated with the forest officials, they gave “animal like treatment” to him and his father.

“This act ...is illegal and inhuman and is punishable under the eyes of law” said Majik in his complaint. Majik was allegedly picked up by forest officials investigating the killing of a tiger at Keri village in February 2009, but police sources say that forest officials informed them that they had not arrested Majik.

This was in fact noted by the judicial magistrate first class, Valpoi, in an order dated May 23 on a bail application filed by Majik.

August 27,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition