The two friends of Satwik Shashtri who died in an elephant attack inside the Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) are reportedly absconding after the incident. Satwik Shashtri, 24, who was working as a senior business analyst at Mu Sigma. Inc at Whitefield, ventured into the BNP along with his two friends, Anupam Manur and Ashish Shenoy, without informing any forest officials. Elephants trampled and killed Satwik while his friends managed to escape.
The investigating team from the Forest Department has booked cases against the friends for illegally entering the National Park and also under Karnataka Forest Act, 1965, and Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. They have failed to trace them with the parents of the two saying that they have no idea of the whereabouts of their children.
H. Chinnappaiah, Range Forest Officer, Bannerghatta Wildlife Division, BNP, said that the friends need to be present during investigation and after that a detailed chargesheet will be filed. “We suspect that the friends are hiding and at the same time, applying for bail. On Wednesday their parents agreed to produce them before us on Thursday, but so far there has been no news of the boys,” Mr Chinnappaiah said.
Forest officials also commented that the illegal entry of the three into the Bannerghatta forests was mistakenly referred to as trekking. “It is nothing but illegal entry. There are no treks inside the elephant habitat without proper guides. In fact, we insist that trekking enthusiasts sign on the format before going inside the forest. In the 200 sq km plus BNP, close to 200 elephants roam freely, and the area where Satwik was killed has the highest density of elephants,” said an investigating officer.