Following a complaint from farmers, Divisional Forest Officer S. Satyanarayana sent a team of officials to the spot to conduct an enquiry into the matter. Mr. Satyanarayana told The Hindu that it was natural death. “Apparently, it died due to illness some 20 days ago,” he said.

However, locals argued that the deer had died as a result of suffering injury at the hands of hunters.

Fluorosis Vimukthi Porata Samithi (FVPS) State convenor Kanchukatla Subhash, who had earlier represented to District Collector T. Chiranjeevulu on the poaching of deer, said that the deer might have been attacked by hunters due to lack of monitoring from the forest department. “We had made many representations seeking the protection of deer in the past, but neither the forest department nor the district administration took any measure to protect them though they were falling prey to hunters,” he said.