Mysuru: A sandalwood smuggler was shot dead by an alert forest personnel at Lingabudhi Lake in the wee hours of Saturday.
The deceased has been identified as Shankar, aged 25 to 30 years, and a resident of Mahadeva Colony in H D Kote Taluk. The incident took place at around 3 am when Shankar along with seven others was trying to lay his hand on the booty from the Lingambudhi Lake forest area where there are more than 200 sandalwood trees.
An alert forest guard Manjunath, who was deployed for patrolling in the region on account of recent leopard sightings in the region, heard the sound of the gang cutting down sandalwood trees. The smugglers who saw Manjunath tried to attack him with lethal weapons in their possession but in quick retaliation and self-defence, Manjunath opened fire in air with an intention to warn the miscreants. However, when the smugglers continued to attack him, he opened fire on the smugglers resulting in the death of Shankar while others managed to escape under the cover of darkness.
After the incident, the forest personnel alerted Kuvempunagar police who immediately rushed to the spot. The police have recovered lethal weapons and other machineries from the spot. Police Commissioner Subramanyeshwara Rao, DCP N Rudramuni, ACP Mallik along with the dog squad and forensic experts visited the spot. Kuvempunagar Police have registered a case and are on the lookout for the smugglers.