Man mauled to death by big cat in Kheri; second incident within fortnight
On August 27, another man, Ambarish Kumar, was allegedly killed by the same tiger in Imaliya village, said divisional forest officer, south Kheri, Sanjay Biswal
LAKHIMPUR KHERI A 40-year-old man was killed by a tiger in a sugarcane field near Muda Assi village in the Maheshpur range of the South Kheri forest division in this UP district on Wednesday, marking the second such fatality in the area within a fortnight. The situation was tense in the area following the latest attack by the big cat and authorities were under increasing pressure to address the human-animal conflict.
The deceased, Jakir, 40, was attacked by the big cat when he was working in his cane field. His body was recovered a few hours later when villagers looked for him following his long absence. The incident sparked outrage among villagers, who demanded immediate action to capture the animal.
On August 27, another man, Ambarish Kumar, was allegedly killed by the same tiger in Imaliya village, said divisional forest officer (DFO), south Kheri, Sanjay Biswal.
The forest department deployed patrolling teams, installed cages and cameras, and brought in tranquillising experts to capture the elusive animal. However, heavy rains and waterlogging hampered their efforts.
According to the DFO, four patrolling teams equipped with drone cameras and other equipment were deployed, and four cages and 40 cameras installed in the affected areas to locate and monitor the tiger.
After the first human killing on August 27, UP forest minister Arun Kumar had instructed forest officials to capture the tiger. On September 3, the minister visited Kheri again and held a meeting with district and forest authorities. This time, he gave permission to tranquilise the tiger and instructed forest officials to capture it.
The DFO said four patrolling teams were deployed in the area to keep a watch on the movements of the tiger besides setting up four cages. Drone cameras and 40 night-vision enabled cameras were also pressed into service to pin-point the location of the elusive tiger.
Besides, tranquilizing experts from Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and Kanpur were also called in to ensure smooth tranquilization process. He said fresh attempts were on to locate the tiger, who had a habit to slip through the vast expanse of sugarcane crops.