Another forest official killed by wild elephant in Karnataka during mission, this time in Madikeri
Madikeri: In a tragic incident, a forest department staff member was killed in a wild elephant attack while participating in an elephant-chasing mission conducted by the Rapid Response Team (RRT) in Kodagu, Karnataka.
The incident occurred in the early morning hours of Monday in the Kedakal area of Madikeri taluk. A local resident named Murugesh narrowly escaped a life-threatening encounter with a tusker while riding his bike. Although he managed to avoid the elephant's attack, he sustained minor injuries after falling from his bike while attempting to flee.
Following this incident, a team of 15 RRT members was dispatched to chase the wild elephants that had strayed into the estates of Kedakal, aiming to guide them back into the forest. The team diligently tracked the elephants and used firecrackers to disperse them.
However, one of the wild tuskers retaliated and launched an attack on the forest personnel. While most of the team members managed to escape, Girish, a 35-year-old staff member from the Kushalnagar range forest department, became the unfortunate victim. Despite carrying firecrackers in his pockets, Girish was unable to evade the elephant's relentless assault.
The forest personnel continued to deploy firecrackers in an attempt to scare away the aggressive tusker. Tragically, Girish sustained severe injuries during the attack and was immediately transported to the District Hospital in Madikeri for medical treatment. Unfortunately, he did not respond to the treatment provided and succumbed to his injuries.
Madikeri's Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), AT Poovaiah, confirmed the incident, stating that the forest staff were appropriately equipped for the mission, but the elephant ambushed them. Girish, who had been with the department for eight years, leaves behind a sister.
A post-mortem examination was conducted, and the incident was officially recorded at the Madikeri police station.
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Fascism will not be allowed to enter through the back door of vote rigging: CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that fascism would not be allowed to enter India “through the back door of vote rigging” and called upon citizens to collectively defend the country’s democratic foundations.
Speaking after participating in an anti–vote rigging protest organised in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said the gathering was not merely a political demonstration but a stand to protect Indian democracy. “We have come to the heart of our republic not as Congress workers or voters, but as protectors of Indian democracy,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the right to vote, Siddaramaiah said it was the most sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and the very foundation of democracy.
“Through voting, a farmer shapes the future of his children, a worker safeguards his dignity, a youth realises dreams, and a nation expresses its collective will,” he said.
He accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to undermine this right through what he termed systematic vote rigging, including the alleged misuse of the special revision of electoral rolls. “This power is being stolen repeatedly,” he alleged.
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Warning against authoritarian tendencies, Siddaramaiah said history had shown that dictatorship does not begin with violence but with the misuse of institutions and manipulation of democratic systems.
“Across the world, authoritarian regimes pretend to protect democracy while quietly subverting it. This is what the BJP is doing today,” he charged.
He alleged that the ruling party was controlling institutions, intimidating electoral machinery, distorting voter lists, suppressing voter turnout in opposition strongholds, and misusing money and power. “This is not mere maladministration. Vote rigging is an attack on the very idea of India,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that governments formed through “stolen votes” could not be considered democratic.
“Such regimes survive through fear, fraud and distortion of the people’s mandate,” he said, adding that vote rigging posed the biggest threat to the republic since Independence.
Praising Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said he had shown exceptional courage in exposing alleged irregularities in voter lists, booth-level manipulation and “systematic, organised vote rigging” across several states, including Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar.
Referring to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah cited Mahadevpura and Aland constituencies as examples highlighted by Gandhi. In Mahadevpura, he said, thousands of allegedly fake and fraudulent voter entries and discrepancies in electoral rolls pointed to a narrow BJP victory. In Aland, he said, attempts were made to remove the names of legitimate voters ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
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He noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recently filed a chargesheet accusing seven persons, including a former BJP MLA and his son, of attempting to delete the names of around 6,000 voters in Aland.
“This is a significant legal step in the fight against vote rigging,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded by stating that the fight against vote rigging was rooted in constitutional morality, Ambedkarite thought and the core principle of democracy. “Sovereignty belongs to the people, not to any party, regime or those who seek to steal elections,” he said.
