Amid a raging controversy over the killing of tigress T1-Avni, a Congress leader has linked Maharashtra forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar with the international poaching mafia, and the Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said a probe panel appointed a day before was farcical.

Talking to the media here, Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam demanded immediate sacking and a CBI probe against Mungantiwar because the tigers are unsafe under his rule. He said a record number of tigers have died since Mungantiwar resumed office in October 2014.