The much talked about shifting of T-24 Ranthambore tiger to Udaipur’s Biological Park was kept in the dark from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the agency report revealed.

NTCA which is responsible for tiger conservation in the country was kept out of loop to the extent that the only communication it received from the reserve authority was an SMS about the attack on a forest guard before the final shifting. The agency’s written request to file a detailed report on the attack fell on deaf ears.

NTCA Committee, in a report submitted to the central government has termed the shifting of the tiger against the norms and stated that the animal cannot be held guilty of killing the forest guard without a proper enquiry. The report says that the tiger didn’t qualify to be a maneater and the incident may be more closely described as a consequence of a chance encounter due to ‘excessive human proximity to the tiger in his defined habitat.’

The NTCA Committee said that the member secretary received an SMS that read, “Today at 4 PM, a local forest guard Shri Rampal Mali has been attacked by tiger near the entrance of the park and the detailed report will be sent shortly.”

The member secretary responded and asked the reserve authorities to send a detailed report. A written direction was also sent on May 12 in which the authorities were asked to submit a report on priority basis.

Wildlife Activist Rupesh Chand Vyas said that the committee report has exposed how the authorities ignored the standard operating procedure (SOP) while shifting the tiger.

A report has been submitted to the government and the decision is expected to be taken as per NTCA recommendations.