19 Mahindra Thar & Scorpio-N SUVs Seized For Illegally Entering Ranthambhore Tiger Forest Area

Driving into a restricted or reserve forest area is illegal and thats what a group of Mahindra SUV owners did at Ranthambore National Park. Forest Department in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur took action against 19 SUV owners. They seized 19 SUVs 14 from Ranthambore National Park’s Zone 8 and five from nearby hotels. The incident happened on August 15, when the country was celebrating Independence day.

Divisional Forest Officer Ramanand Bhakar said, “At least 12 to 15 vehicles entered the Rantahambore National Park on the evening of August 15 when the tiger reserve is closed during the monsoon. We are still investigating about how the tourists could enter amid tight surveillance”

The group entered Ranthambore for an adventure tour or probably trail exploration. It should be noted that Ranthambore National Park’s jungle safari is usually closed during monsoon and only official vehicles with proper permits are allowed inside for jungle safari. However, in this case the group came with Mahindra Thar, Mahindra Scorpio and XUV500 and entered the prohibited area.

Videos of the group driving in the national park has surfaced online and we can also see people walking inside the tiger reserve. As per the report, the group was seen walking through a stretch with frequent tiger movement. The officials only got to know about this security breach after the video went viral and they almost immediately started searching the restricted forest area.

The officials searched for these SUVs in Zone 6 and Zone 10 where private vehicles are not allowed. As they widened the area of search, they found at least a dozen number of vehicles in Zone 8. After locating these vehicles, officials seized the vehicles and took action against the drivers.

They seized 14 vehicles from national park and each one of these vehicles was issued with a heavy penalty of Rs 1 lakh. This fine was imposed for entering the national park without permission or illegally and disturbing the wildlife. Two people including a forest ranger and forest guard were suspended over the incident.

Chief Wildlife warden, P K Upadhyay told TOI, “We released the vehicles that came from outside after imposing heavy penalties. The role of organisers is still under investigation and their vehicles remain seized. We inspected the participants’ vehicles, and fortunately none of them had picked up any items, such as wood or horns. Otherwise, their vehicles would not have been released, even released after penalty.”

M&M’s Statement

Most of the cars used for this adventure rally were from Mahindra. The Indian SUV manufacturer came forward with an official statement saying that they had nothing to do with this rally. They said, “We understand that in connection with an adventure event there was an incident of some vehicles entering Tiger Zone B of Ranthambore.

We would like to clarify that the said event was organised by a third party who uses Mahindra vehicles for the activity. As a responsible OEM, we will investigate the matter to find out any violation on the part of the organisers of the event. We strongly condemn any act of violation and will fully support the administration who is investigating this incident.”