Two friends of deceased techie Satwik Shastri in the Bannerghatta forest may face a prison term of up to three years with fines of up to Rs 25,000 each for violating wildlife protection laws. Satwik and his two friends, Ashish San and Anupam Manur, entered Bannerghatta forest illegally on Saturday afternoon. Satwik died in an elephant attack and his body was recovered on Monday. BNP Deputy Conservator of Forest N. Devaraj said that a chargesheet will be filed against the two soon. “We again searched the area where Satwik’s body was found and took down the GPS readings of the place. It falls under Begihalli Beat in the Bannerghatta Wildlife Range,” he said.
B.R. Deepak, a Supreme Court advocate and legal head of the Elephant Task Force appointed by the Karnataka High Court, strongly recommended imprisonment for Satwik’s friends as they violated laws governing national parks. He said, “We heard that the BNP authorities are booking cases under Section 27 of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), which restricts entry into forests. But the cases have to be taken up under Section 35 (8) of WP Act, which prohibits carrying weapons or material that could injure wildlife. They should be punished under Section 51, which invites punishment of up to three years and fines of up to Rs 25,000.”
The wildlife legal experts point out that in wildlife cases, the burden of proof lies with the accused. This provision is detailed under Section 57 of WPA. “News reports have said that the boys consumed alcohol before entering the forest, which is an offence under Section 56 of the same Act,” Mr Deepak said. “This should be a lesson for youngsters who take wildlife laws for granted. They must take permission before entering any wildlife habitat. If they are not convicted, it sends a wrong message,” he added.