The State Forest department has written to the additional chief secretary, requesting the government to hand over the case of forest fires in Bandipur and Nagarahole tiger reserves to the CBI.
A senior forest official told Deccan Herald, “The letter will now be sent to the Forest minister through the additional chief secretary, and then to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The chief minister will look into the matter and take the final decision. We are just hoping that the delay does not make matters worse.”
The tiger reserves, within a week, saw over 1,600 acres of forest being engulfed in flames. A large number of wildlife species were burnt alive and fire tenders had to be pressed into service this year.
The matter became more serious as a couple of days ago, the Forest department received a hoax call from Madikeri. The caller claimed to be a naxal and took responsibility for setting the forest on fire.
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