Two men from Kerala arrested for hunting gaur in the Nilgiris

Two men from Kerala were arrested by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department on Sunday after they were caught hunting a gaur near Muthorai Palada in Udhagamandalam.

The two accused were identified as A. Aneesh Mon, 43, and M. Nisaar, 45, both from Nilambur in Kerala. Forest officials said the two men were spotted in a Kerala-registered pick-up truck near Muthorai Palada. The officials found the carcass of the gaur, believed to be around 10-years-old, and informed forest and police departments to stop and search Kerala-registered vehicles similar to the one spotted in the area. The spotted the vehicle and gave chase to it, before apprehending the suspects near Naduvattam. The two men were allegedly trying to flee back to Kerala when they were arrested.

Divisional Forest Officer (Nilgiris), S. Gowtham, told The Hindu the officials are yet to recover the gun that was used to hunt the gaur. He said tools and slaughtering equipment, that would have been used to butcher the animal have been seized, along with the vehicle in which the men were travelling.

The accused reportedly had a load of putrefied carrots, ostensibly to mask the carcass of the gaur.