"The shootout took place in a forested area. Several witnesses have been questioned and items, including guns, have been seized," said Karnataka D K Shivakumar. (Source: Facebook)Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the death of three alleged poachers in a forested area of the Hanur taluk in Chamarajanagar district following firing by forest department staff in the early hours of the day.The three alleged poachers who died in the Cauvery Wildlife Reserve have been identified as Antony Swamy, 50, John Rose Peter, 42 and Kumar alias Sawariyappan, 33, who are residents of local villages situated in the fringe of the wildlife reserve. A fourth alleged poacher Mahimadan, 45, was injured and admitted to a private hospital.The forest authorities have claimed to have charged upon the poachers when they were carrying deer meat after a hunt in the forest. The forest authorities have reported that the alleged poachers were shot after the officials came under fire from the poachers.The death of the alleged poachers created tension in the region, with locals attacking the office of a deputy range forest officer in retaliation and claiming the men who had been killed were innocent and not involved in poaching.Incidentally, the region where the three were killed is part of what was formerly a territory dominated by the notorious forest brigand Veerappan who was killed by a Tamil Nadu Special Task Force 22 years ago.Must Read | Telangana forest guard removes 6 poacher traps. Seventh killed him“I received information about the incident at 5 am. The truth will be known after the investigation. The shootout took place in a forested area. Several witnesses have been questioned and items, including guns, have been seized,” Shivakumar said.“Some people have been arrested too and the bodies are being taken for post-mortem,” he said.Story continues below this adMeanwhile, Forest Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the incident took place in the reserve forest that comes under the Shagyam forest division of the Hanur Taluk. He added that four people were seen carrying a gun without a license when two teams of the forest department spotted them and subsequently, a shooting ensued.Reddy added that the alleged poachers had four bags of deer meat. “According to our forest department staff, they shot at them to safeguard their lives,” he added.“After an inquiry, the actual position will be known. After that, we will take necessary action. If it is found that our officials have made a mistake, we will definitely take action,” he said.