Mumbai, November 12: In a chilling revelation in the killing of alleged man-eater tigress Avni, officially known as T-1, the post-mortem and witness reports said the animal was not shot dead in self-defence. The autopsy also found that thigh of tigress Avni had no impact of the dart “fired from a syringe projector” (tranquilising gun). Four veterinarians conducted the post-mortem, while the witness report was submitted by Nagpur-based wildlife biologist Milind Pariwakam, who was the representative of the Maharashtra forest department.

According to the witness report, Avni "was facing away from the person who fired the bullet". The report made two diagrams to illustrate the bullet’s “entry point, [a] place where [the] bullet was lodged and the trajectory of the bullet”. Both the post-mortem and witness reports raised apprehensions over the use of tranquiliser. While the post-mortem report notes that “fascia beneath darted needle was intact”, the witness report observed that “the cannula of the dart had gone into the subcutaneous layer and had not penetrated into the underlying muscle”. Man-Eater Tigress Avni’s Killing: Violations of Guidelines Evident in Postmortem Report, Says Official.

“There was no haemorrhage observed in the muscles at the darting site. Dart fired from a syringe projector (tranquilising rifle) always leaves a significant and obvious haematoma, which was not observed in this case," the witness report said, as reported by Indian Express. These conclusions contradict Maharashtra forest department's claims that Avni was shot dead in self-defence by sharpshooter Asghar Ali Khan after it attacked at the team that had fired a tranquiliser dart to immobilise the animal. Maharashtra Forest Ministry Sets Up Committee to Probe Tigress Avni's Killing.

“Forester Mukhbir Sheikh managed to shoot a tranquiliser dart at her. But she got furious and charged at the team, forcing Asghar to shoot in self-defence from a distance of about 8-10 metres,” Maharashtra Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) A K Misra, had said. A committee of two independent experts — Bilal Habib from Wildlife Institute of India and Anish Andheria from Wildlife Conservation Trust — has been formed to investigate the circumstances that led to the killing of the tigress.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 12, 2018 05:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).