No violation of rules: Forest officials on Rishab Shetty's 'Kantara 2' shoot in forest area

Hassan: Even as the villagers allege that the Kantara 2 film crew has violated the forest norms by bursting crackers and lighting fire while shooting at Heruru forest area of Sakleshpur taluk, the Forest department officials on Monday denied them.

The crew of Kantara-2 film, acted and directed by Rishab Shetty, had brought the filming equipment to Heruru forest area on January 2 without getting necessary permission. The Forest department imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the crew on January 4 and gave permission for shooting from January 5 to 25, villagers allege.

The villagers allege that during the shooting of the film, the crew burst crackers, violating the norms and such acts force the wild animals to stray into nearby villages out of fear. The villagers claimed that film crew assaulted them when quested about them about this.

The officials conducted an inspection on Sunday based on the allegations. Yesaluru Deputy Range Forest Officer Somashekar, however, clarified, "They had created a small fire on the gomala land, where the team has obtained permission for shooting. However, no rules were violated in the deemed forest area".

Reacting to the incident, DCF Saurabh Kumar said, "The film team is shooting after obtaining necessary permission. The officials have inspected the spot. Suitable measures would be taken based on the report".