HC orders judicial probe into Sundarbans deer hunting incident
DOT Desk
The High Court today asked for a judicial probe into a reported incident of hunting 22 deer from the Sundarbans in Satkhira’s Shyamnagar area in July this year, reports The Daily Star. The court ordered the chief judicial magistrate of Satkhira to conduct the inquiry into the incident and submit a probe report before it in three months. It also issued a rule asking the respondents to explain in four weeks why they should not be ordered to conserve the Sundarbans and why legal action should not be taken against the persons involved in hunting the deer from the Sundarbans.
The respondents include the secretaries to the ministries of forest and environment and home affairs; inspector general of police; director general of Coast Guard; chief conservator of forest; commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Police; divisional forest officer in Khulna; deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Satkhira; assistant conservator concerned of the forest; and officer-in-charge of Shyamnagar Police Station.
The HC bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Md Khairul Alam came up with the order and rule after hearing a writ petition filed as a public interest litigation by Abu Bakar, a senior reporter of the daily AmaderOrthoneeti and also an inhabitant of Shyamnagar area, seeking necessary order on the respondents to preserve the Sundarbans and to take action against those who reportedly hunted 22 deer in July. Petitioner Abu Bakar told The Daily Star that Abdus Sattar Mondal, an international poacher, and his accomplices along with eight police personnel entered the Sundarbans at night on July 7 and illegally hunted 22 deer.
The coast guard and forest department on July 8 detained them and recovered 22 slaughtered deer and six firearms from their possessions, he said adding that reports about the incident were published in different newspapers.
Advocate Shamsul Hoq appeared for the petitioner while Deputy Attorney General Motaher Hossain Sazu represented the state.