Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) [India], November 28 (HBTV): Authorities arrested three individuals within 12 hours of discovering a dead tiger in the Nilgiris district, officials confirmed. The Tamil Nadu Forest Department announced that patrolling in the area will be intensified from December 1.

The accused have been identified as Manikandan (36), a daily wage labourer, and Maarimuthu (33) and Vignesh (32), who work in a scrap store in Gudalur.

A combing operation is planned in the Gudalur range on Thursday, involving a dog squad and the Rapid Response Team (RRT), to locate and remove snares in the area.

According to officials, the accused are linked to multiple police cases and have prior convictions. They confessed to setting snares with the intent of hunting wild boars, inadvertently causing the tiger's death.

Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Karuppaiyah led searches at the residences of the accused, where similar cables and snares used in the incident were recovered, authorities stated.

(ANI)