Madhya Pradesh: Tiger mauls man to death in Bandhavgarh reserve

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A 77-year-old man was mauled to death by a tiger in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria district, an official said on Friday, reported PTI.

The incident occurred in Darodi beat under Ghamokhar forest range of BTR on Thursday afternoon, he said. The victim Sukhdev Prasad Rai had taken his cattle to graze in the forest along with a few others, when a big cat attacked him, forest ranger Vijay Shankar Shrivastava said.

The man bore injury marks on his neck, forehead and other parts of the body, he said, adding that the body was handed over to the family after post-mortem.

In a separate incident in March this year, a 50-year-old man was mauled to death by a tiger in a forest in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, an official said. The victim Bhajandas Parohi had ventured into Junona forest to collect firewood, but failed to return home, the official said. Following a search, Parohi's body was found in compartment no 406 this morning and it was shifted to the government hospital for post-mortem, he said. An initial compensation was given to the deceased man's family and the rest will be disbursed according to the norms of the forest department, the official added. As many as 53 people were killed in the year 2022 in the attack by tigers and leopards in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, state Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar had told the Legislative Assembly last week.

In another incident, in January this year, a farmer working at his field in Kerala's Wayanad was attacked by a tiger, and later succumbed following a cardiac arrest. Thomas alias Sallu, 50, was immediately taken to the nearby Manathavady hospital with deep injuries on his hands and legs. Being moved to a bigger hospital after preliminary first aid, he suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away. The locals are up in arms and have expressed their deep anger against Forest officials, saying this is the first such incident when a tiger has reached human areas in their locality. Following a huge protest in the area, the Forest officials have decided to capture the tiger using tranquilisers and a special team has been able to locate it. The last time a human being was killed by a tiger attack in Wayanad was four years back and in the past one decade, this is the 49 death recorded in an attack by wild animals.

(With inputs from PTI)