Tigress Avni killing: Post mortem reveals alleged man-eater was looking in another direction when killed

The post-mortem report of tigress T1, also known as Avni, has revealed that the animal was looking away when it was shot. This revelation is contrast to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claiming that the tigress was shot in self defence.

The post mortem report was conducted by wildlife biologist Milind Pariwakam of the state forest department. In his report, Pariwakam has raised several questions including whether the state has violated guidelines while killing the tigress.

Contradicting the shooter’s claim that he had fired in self-defence, the report adds that the bullet was found on the left-hand-side of the tigress’ foot, indicating that she was not facing the shooter at the time of her killing.

Doubts have also been raised regarding the tiger’s tranquilisation as well. Usually, larger animals are sedated using a tranquiliser, but according to the post-mortem, Avni was not sedated. The report said that there was no colouration near the abdominal muscles, the target of the tranquiliser. The sedative comprises a red dye, which is a marker on the body part. However, no such marker was seen in this case.

Not only this, in this report, doubts have been raised over whether a tranquliser was used. The witness report states: “There was no haemorrhage observed in the muscles at the darting site. Dart fired from a syringe projector (tranquilising rifle) always leaves a significant and obvious haematoma, which was not observed in this case.”

According to an Indian Express report, the conclusion on the impact of the tranquilising dart is equally damning. While the post-mortem report notes that “fascia beneath darted needle was intact”, the witness report includes photographs to elaborate that “the cannula of the dart had gone into the sub-cutaneous layer and had not penetrated into the underlying muscle”.

These findings point that the shooter killed the tiger, without any prior provocation. Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi had lashed out at the BJP-led Maharashtra government over the "ghastly murder" of man-eating tigress Avni, calling it a "straight case of crime".

Tigress Avni, who is believed to be responsible for the deaths of 13 people in the past two years, was killed in Maharashtra's Yavatmal on Friday as part of an operation. Avni is survived by her two cubs who are 10 months old.

She was shot dead by sharp-shooter Asghar Ali, son of controversial sharp-shooter Nawab Shafat Ali, at compartment no 149 of Borati forest under the jurisdiction of the Ralegaon police station.

Earlier, a provisional necropsy report said that Tigress Avni died due to excessive internal haemorrhage and cardio-respiratory failure and her stomach and intestines were filled with fluid and gas, indicating she had not hunted or eaten for 4-5 days.

The tigress, who was believed to have turned man-eater and killed 13 people in the last two years in Yavatmal district's Pandharkawda area, was shot dead in Borati forest there last Friday.

The examination, conducted by veterinarians of various institutions, has also revealed that two "major" parts of the bullet, used to kill the 119 kg tigress, were observed and that it died due to excessive internal haemorrhage and cardio-respiratory failure.

Explaining the contents of the report, a wildlife expert said, "Observation of fluid and gas, without any solid content, means that the tigress had not hunted or eaten for about 4-5 days. However, it is commonly observed in large cats that they eat 25-30 kg meat on a single day and do not eat for 7 days at a stretch."

The necropsy report states that a circular punctured wound on the skin of 0.5 cm diameter on left thoracic region was found and that the gunshot was fired from below the left scapular caudal angle.

With agency inputs