Hanur shootout: Leaders demand judicial inquiry into deaths

Christian community leaders in Karnataka are demanding an independent judicial inquiry following a fatal shootout involving forest department personnel in the Chikkalluru Reserved Forest area of Hanur taluk, Chamarajanagar district.

Three individuals—Anthony Swami (50), John Rose Peter (42), and Anthony Kumar (33)—were killed during the incident on a Sunday morning. While the forest department claimed the use of force was necessary, community leaders have raised questions regarding whether there was an immediate and genuine threat to the lives of the forest staff.

Archbishop Dr. Peter Machado and Prashanth Jattanna, Director of the Karnataka Christian Development Corporation, have both urged the state government to appoint a judge from the High Court or Supreme Court to conduct a transparent investigation. They emphasized that while illegal activities in protected forests are not supported by the community, lethal force must be a last resort and strictly legal.

An FIR has been registered as a murder case at the Hanur police station, though no specific forest department personnel have been named as accused so far. Leaders are also calling for adequate compensation and government employment for the families of the deceased.