"Tigress Avni was shot like a terrorist, was not a man eater:" Contempt petition in Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to Maharashtra government officials in a contempt petition filed in connection with the 2018 killing of tigress Avni (Sangeeta Dogra v. Vilas Kharge & Ors)..A Bench of Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian also sought evidence from petitioner Sangeeta Dogra to confirm whether or not the tigress was a man-eater..Believed to have killed 13-15 persons in the region till then, Avni, also known officially as T1, was shot dead on November 2, 2018, following a massive hunt involving 200 paragliders, infrared cameras, and Calvin Klein fragrances. This was three months after the Supreme Court gave the authorities permission to shoot the tigress "at sight" if tranquilisers didn't work..Dogra has claimed in her plea that the State government officials submitted false affidavits in Supreme Court stating that the tigress was a man eating one whereas medical reports which emerged later suggested it was not..The affidavits were filed in the case of Earth Brigade v. State of Maharashtra to obtain orders so that the tigress could be killed, Dogra has contended. .Dogra, an animal rights activist, has moved the top court seeking action against those involved in the killing. Citing post-mortem and DNA reports, she argued that Avni was not a man-eater, since there was no human hair or nails in her stomach . .She further claimed that though gunshot samples were collected, arms and weapons were not seized while preparing the panchnama (record of witness testimony). Further, it was alleged that authorities helped offenders abscond from the place of the incident.."Alleged contemnor made no attempt to rescue Tigress and shot Tigress dead as she was sighted at night; whereas no execution orders are exercised at night, National Animals was shot dead like a terrorist," reads the contempt plea. .The Court will hear the case after two weeks. .[Read order]