'Shameful that PCCF sent woman officer to hunter's hotel at night'

Nawab Shafat Ali Khan is notorious for his trigger-happy ways. Pics/Shadab Khan

Upset that he has not yet come face-to-face with Yavatmal's man-eating tigress, T1, controversial shooter Nawab Shafat Ali Khan has trained his gun on the forest department instead. Shockingly, the PCCF tried to pacify the Nawab by sending a senior woman officer - Deputy Conservator of Forest K M Abharna - to his hotel to apologise.

Deputy Conservator of Forest K M Abharna is the smart, young officer leading the forest department's mission to capture tigress T1 alive. It is protocol to attempt a live capture by tranquilising, and shooting wild animals - even man-eaters - is the last resort. In this case, rescuing T1 without bloodshed will also go a long way in ensuring that her cubs do not lash out in fear.

Sources said officer K M Abharna seemed to be upset after meeting the shooter

But this approach doesn't seem to have gone down well with the trigger-happy Khan, who is notorious for killing hundreds of wild animals. Even as the authorities put in their best efforts to capture the big cat alive, the Hyderabadi hunter is allegedly provoking villagers, claiming that not enough is being done to protect them. Sources said that he claimed he was unable to solve the villagers' problem because the forest department was relying on a team of vets from Madhya Pradesh instead of him.

On September 12, mid-day had reported that the decision to rope in the controversial hunter for the tigress rescue had raised hackles among wildlife activists. Perhaps it was due to this negative reaction that forest officials on the ground kept a distance from Khan. What has shocked the department and the villagers, though, is the humiliation that DCF Abharna had to suffer after she was made to apologise to Khan at Hotel Rahul in Pandharkawda, where he was staying.

Nawab Shafat Ali Khan. Pic/Shadab Khan

Overheard at the hotel
mid-day's reporter and photographer were also staying at the same place - the same floor, in fact. This scribe was in the first floor lobby between 10 and 11 am on Saturday, when we overheard him loudly speaking on the phone. He told the caller: "Sir, humein jis tarike ka cooperation milna chhahiye tha, woh nahi mil raha hai from the forest department team on ground (I'm not getting the kind of cooperation I need from the forest officials on the ground)." "We saw 150 pugmarks of the mother and cubs near a nullah. Woh lady ko samajh main aa gaya ki woh fail ho rahi hai (That lady has understood that she is failing)."

Presumably, he was speaking of DCF Abharna, who was spotted leaving Hotel Rahul the same night, after meeting Khan. Sources said the officer seemed upset after her encounter with him.

All of Saturday, the forest department team, with the help of elephants, tried to locate the tigress and her cubs. But there was not much success. Between 8.30 and 9.30 pm, DCF Abharna visited Hotel Rahul. Sources said she was instructed to apologise to Khan by her boss A K Misra, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) and Chief Wildlife Warden of Maharashtra.

'Makes the blood boil'
Fearing serious consequences if they openly criticise the PCCF, no one was ready to come on record about the incident, but within the wildlife circles and among the villagers, there is strong anger towards him. Sources from the forest department team on the ground told mid-day, "The instructions of the PCCF to a lady officer to visit a person at their hotel at odd hours at night is shameful and makes the blood boil."

An official from the department said, "I had immense respect for the PCCF, but with what happened yesterday, I feel ashamed that he is our boss. It was so wrong on his part to have instructed his fellow officer, especially a woman, to go and meet the Nawab at the hotel at night. Not only does this send the wrong message, but it also tarnishes the image of the department."

PCCF says
"I found out from my sources that there was a communication gap between the team led by DCF Abharna and the team headed by Nawab Shafat Ali Khan. As both are involved in the operation, I called them on the phone and told them to meet and sort out the differences," said PCCF (Wildlife) A K Misra. He added, "I had asked them to meet at a time convenient for both of them. Our officer Abharna might have met him upon returning from the field. I don't think there is anything wrong in meeting someone officially, irrespective of time or gender."

Trigger-happy

• 2017: Nawab Shafat Ali Khan felled a rogue elephant that had killed 15 people in Jharkhand.
• 2016: He was also involved in culling around 500 wild boars in Chandrapur.
• 2016: He killed over 250 nilgai in Bihar and called it "free social service".

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