A constable attached to the Erumad Police Station has been placed under suspension by the Nilgiris District Superintendent of Police after the Kerala Forest Department’s camera traps captured him with a weapon to hunt in the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary in Wayanad recently.
The constable, identified as J. Siju, was seen in a camera trap placed inside the wildlife sanctuary with a weapon and a torch-light strapped to his head. He was posted in the Erumad Police Station in Pandalur, on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.
The Kerala Forest Department identified the man and alerted the Nilgiris District Police. When the police sought to question Siju about the incident, he fled from his residence, officials said.
Since he did not turn up for the inquiry, and following the submission of evidence about his entry into the forest to hunt wild game, Nilgiris DSP suspended Siju from duty, officials confirmed.
Sources said that Siju was previously residing in O-Valley in Gudalur, and that his father had cases of poaching registered against him.
