Four forest officials have been placed under suspension on charges of negligence in duty with regard to tiger protection in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, where death of two big cats was reported earlier this month.
The officials who have been suspended by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests R.M.Dobriyal include the Field Divisional Officer Venu Babu, Forest Range Officer Venugopal, Forest Section Officer Poshetti and Forest Beat Officer Srikanth, highly placed sources from the department informed.
The suspensions were based on a report by the Field Director, Project Tiger, S. Shantaram, after the tigers died under suspicious circumstances.
Sources from the department informed that Penchikalpet FRO Venugopal, who holds additional charge of Kagaznagar range, displayed gross negligence in updating the information on M-Stripes, the online platform of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, where the tiger movements should be recorded and updated. The updates have been few and far between, and laxity was found in even foot patrolling, the charges said.
Venu Babu was held responsible for rampant encroachments in the forest during the past two to four months, which include several permanent structures, and a petrol station. A memo was issued by the higher ups seeking action against the encroachments, yet the FDO had not acted upon it, which showed connivance rather than negligence, it was opined.
All the four officials were issued show cause memos, and suspension orders were issued when they could not provide any reasonable explanation, officials informed.
Carcasses of two tigers, one female sub-adult and another fully grown male, were found in close proximity In the first week of January in Darigaon beat of the Kagaznagar range in the district. Though initial surmise was that the female died in territorial skirmish, the discovery of the male carcass led to doubts about poisoning.
Already, cases have been booked against three persons allegedly for poisoning one tiger, even as forensic reports are awaited.
