Bandipur Fire: One arrested for allegedly igniting fire 

Team Udayavani, Mar 2, 2019, 4:41 AM IST

Chamarajnagar: Karnataka forest department of Friday, March 1 arrested one person in connection with the wildfire in Gopalaswamy Betta range of forests under Bandipur National Park and Tiger Reserve.

The arrested is identified as Arun Kumar, a resident of Kallipura, in Gundlupet taluk. He was produced before a Court, which has remanded him to judicial custody.

As per the sources, Arun had lit fire on February 22 and went absconding since then. 

Range Forest Officer Puttaswamy and staffer Naveen with the help of the villagers successfully arrested Arun after receiving accurate information of he whereabouts.

Thousands of acres of land in the Bandipur tiger reserve were gutted in a fire over the last four days, creating fear about the safety of wild animals. Foresters, along with hundreds of volunteers, made a vain bid to douse the fire that had spread to dangerous proportions. Finally, the fire was brought under control by the coordinated efforts of the Indian Air Force, the district fire brigade, forest guards and locals.