Nine cattle were found dead in a coffee plantation belonging to a private company at Aigur in the taluk.
Local residents suspect that the cattle were poisoned to death by the staff of the company as per the instructions of the company manager. Police complaints have been filed against the manager and staff in this connection. The owners of the cattle have demanded that serious action be taken against the suspects.
S C Girish, an agriculturist from Kiraganduru village, said that three of his cattle were poisoned by the coffee company staffers Darshan, Govind, Srinivasa, Muttappa and others. Girish said he had suffered a loss of Rs 50,000 following the death of his cattle.
Also, the cattle belonging to K U Somesh of Aigur, Chidananda, Sandeep, Chandrashekhar, Veeraraju, Puttaraju and Nitin are missing.
The farmers have suspected a foul play and alleged that their cattle too have been killed by the company staff. They have demanded action against the suspects.
Following the complaints, circle inspector Nanjundegowda and station house officer Shivashankar conducted a spot inspection.
The autopsy of the cattle was also performed.
The coffee estate manager, assistant manager, field officer, tractor driver and another employee were quizzed by the police.
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