<p>Union Minister for Women and Child development and an animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi on Saturday described the killing of tigress Avni as a "straight case of crime"</p>.<p>"I am definitely going to take up this case of utter lack of empathy for animals as a test case... Legally, criminally and politically," she said in a series of tweets.</p>.<p>She also said that she would "strongly" take up the issue of the killing of tigress Avni with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.</p>.<p>Coming down heavily on finance, planning and forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, she said that he ignored the requests of stakeholders and ordered the killing.</p>.<p>So far, neither Fadnavis nor Mungantiwar has responded to Maneka's statement.</p>.<p>She also took exception for hiring hunter and sharpshooter Nawab Shafath Ali Khan for killing T1 (Avni).</p>.<p>"Shafath Ali Khan has killed three tigers, at least 10 leopards, a few elephants and 300 wild boars in Chandrapur. He is a criminal known for supplying guns to anti-nationals and for a suspected case of murder in Hyderabad," she said, adding that she fails to understand why a state government should even bother about such a man, let alone hire his services for illegal and inhuman acts.</p>.<p>Maneka pointed out that so far Shafath Ali Khan used to be involved in killing animals but this time his son Ashgar too appeared in the scene.</p>.<p>"His son is not authorised to kill. This is patently illegal. Despite the forest officials being committed to tranquilise, capture and quarantine the tigress, the trigger-happy shooter killed it at the orders of Mungantiwar. This ghastly murder has put two cubs at the edge of a sad death in the absence of their mother," she said.</p>
<p>Union Minister for Women and Child development and an animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi on Saturday described the killing of tigress Avni as a "straight case of crime"</p>.<p>"I am definitely going to take up this case of utter lack of empathy for animals as a test case... Legally, criminally and politically," she said in a series of tweets.</p>.<p>She also said that she would "strongly" take up the issue of the killing of tigress Avni with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.</p>.<p>Coming down heavily on finance, planning and forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, she said that he ignored the requests of stakeholders and ordered the killing.</p>.<p>So far, neither Fadnavis nor Mungantiwar has responded to Maneka's statement.</p>.<p>She also took exception for hiring hunter and sharpshooter Nawab Shafath Ali Khan for killing T1 (Avni).</p>.<p>"Shafath Ali Khan has killed three tigers, at least 10 leopards, a few elephants and 300 wild boars in Chandrapur. He is a criminal known for supplying guns to anti-nationals and for a suspected case of murder in Hyderabad," she said, adding that she fails to understand why a state government should even bother about such a man, let alone hire his services for illegal and inhuman acts.</p>.<p>Maneka pointed out that so far Shafath Ali Khan used to be involved in killing animals but this time his son Ashgar too appeared in the scene.</p>.<p>"His son is not authorised to kill. This is patently illegal. Despite the forest officials being committed to tranquilise, capture and quarantine the tigress, the trigger-happy shooter killed it at the orders of Mungantiwar. This ghastly murder has put two cubs at the edge of a sad death in the absence of their mother," she said.</p>
