Death of five tigers: Discovery of cow carcass strengthens poisoning doubt
Bengaluru (PTI): The discovery of a seemingly stale carcass of a cow in Hugyam forest range in Mahadeshwara Hills on Friday strengthens the doubt that the death of a tigress and her four cubs could be due to poisoning, officials said.
These five tigers were found dead in this forest on Thursday.
It is suspected that the miscreants had poisoned the cow, and after eating it, the tigress and its cubs might have died.
"Either the bovine was poisoned before being left in the forest, or the owner of the cattle, after spotting the dead cow, would have spread poison on its body, which the tigress and her cubs ate and died," the officer said.
Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre too backed the same theory.
He said someone might have poisoned the cattle, which led to the death of the big cats.
"Our government has taken the matter very seriously, and we will investigate it from all angles. We will not spare those behind it," Khandre told reporters.
While the autopsy on the mother tigress was done on Thursday itself, the postmortem on the four cubs was underway on Friday, the forest officials said.
The tigress and the cubs were found dead during routine morning patrol by vigilant frontline staff, officials said.
A five-member team of experts on Thursday undertook a comprehensive necropsy following NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) protocols.
The tissue, blood, and stomach samples were being processed for toxicology, histopathology, and DNA profiling, forest officials said.
Following the incident, the forest department has strengthened monitoring and anti-poaching vigilance across the Hugyam range.
According to Kandre, real-time drone surveillance, infrared cameras, and GPS-based M-STRIPES patrols have been escalated across the range, and all Anti-Poaching Camps (APCs) are on high alert.
Intensive sweeps for snares, poison baits, and traps are being conducted, and a confidential informer network with reward mechanisms is operational for actionable intelligence, Khandre had said on Thursday.
Karnataka had the second highest number of tigers in the country, with 563 of these big cats, after Madhya Pradesh, which has 785, as per the Status of Tigers, Co-predators and Prey in India 2022 report.
The report was released by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
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Shobha Karandlaje urges Governor to withhold assent to Karnataka hate speech bill
Bengaluru (PTI): Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje on Friday urged Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to withhold assent to the Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025, terming the Bill "vague, overbroad, and susceptible to misuse".
She also requested him to reserve the Bill for the consideration of President Droupadi Murmu under Article 200 of the Constitution of India, in the larger interest of constitutional governance, democratic freedoms, and the rule of law.
The bill, passed by both houses of the legislature, will be sent to the Governor for his assent.
Taking to social media 'X', the minister said, "The Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill 2025 hands the State sweeping authority to silence opposition voices, restrain the media, and intimidate the citizens who defend Karnataka's land, language, and Dharma. This isn't a hate speech prevention bill, it's rather a bill that prevents the right to speech." "We will not let Congress turn the law into a tool to choke free speech and democratic dissent," she added.
In a letter to the governor, Karandlaje said the objective of the Bill is to address hate speech and hate crimes. However, upon careful examination, it becomes evident that the Bill, in its present form, establishes a "State-controlled mechanism" for monitoring, assessing, and penalising speech, rather than narrowly addressing expression that poses a clear and imminent threat to public order.
"The structure of the Bill enables executive authorities to determine the permissibility of expression, thereby transforming the law into a tool capable of suppressing voices critical of the government. Such an approach undermines the constitutional guarantee of democratic dissent and free expression," she said.
Citing reference of article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India that guarantees freedom of speech and expression to every citizen, she said, "The Bill departs from these constitutional limits by employing broad, vague, and subjective expressions such as "disharmony," "ill-will," and "prejudicial interest," which are not precisely defined. These terms confer excessive discretion on the Executive, enabling arbitrary and selective enforcement, which is inconsistent with constitutional safeguards."
She said the constitutional infirmities of the present Bill must be examined in light of the Supreme Court's judgment in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, (2015), wherein the Court held that any law regulating speech must be clear, narrowly tailored and free from vagueness.
The minister alleged that the Bill further authorises executive authorities and law-enforcement agencies to assess and act upon speech without adequate judicial oversight. Penal consequences are linked to executive assessment, thereby concentrating investigative and adjudicatory functions within the Executive.
"Such an arrangement erodes procedural safeguards and is inconsistent with constitutional principles governing the protection of fundamental rights," she alleged.
Karandlaje also pointed out the potential impact of the Bill on "historically marginalised" and "constitutionally protected" voices.
"The vague and expansive language of the legislation is capable of being invoked to silence Kannada language activists, women's organisations, representatives of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, backward classes, minorities, journalists, student groups, and civil society organisations that raise issues of governance, social justice, or administrative accountability," she said.
Instead of empowering vulnerable communities, according to the minister, the Bill risks becoming an instrument to deter them from articulating grievances and participating meaningfully in public discourse, thereby defeating the very constitutional promise of equality, dignity, and inclusive democracy.
The minister alleged that the cumulative effect of the Bill is likely to create a "pervasive chilling effect" on public discourse, which is incompatible with democratic governance.
Pointing out that the Bill directly impacts fundamental rights guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution, she said, "In view of the serious constitutional questions it raises, this is a fit case for the exercise of constitutional discretion under Article 200. Reserving the Bill for the consideration of the President would enable a broader constitutional examination of its implications for civil liberties and the federal constitutional balance."
