A man was shot by Chinook helicopters on Friday night after a chase that lasted more than an hour, the man’s family said.
“Our son was shot at 4:40pm by Chinooks in a wild chase with two Chinooks that had been pursuing him for about half an hour,” the man, who has not been named, told The Hindu.
The man was returning to his family’s house in the village of Kachar, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) from the border with Bishnoi, when he was shot, his brother said.
The Chinook pilots returned to their base in Laxman in the northern state of Uttarakhand, where the man was taken to the local hospital for treatment, he added.
“He died on Saturday.
Our son has no memories of the chase,” the brother said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The incident occurred as the family of the man who died, who is a police constable, was preparing to return home from a fishing trip.
The incident comes amid a crackdown on the illegal trade in wildlife in the state, which has witnessed a sharp increase in the number of people being killed by the helicopters.
The helicopter involved in the shooting was one of a number that have been used in the last few years in the province, according to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), an advocacy group for wildlife conservation.
It is estimated that more than 2,000 people have been killed in Chinook-type helicopters in the past five years, the NWF said.
