A day after a big cat mauled two farmers to death near Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR), yet another farmer fell prey to the feline in Barkheda area of Pilibhit on Thursday.
“The attack took place at around 11 am in the morning in which Kunwar Sen, 40, was killed. The incident was reported to us after which our teams reached the village and recovered the body,” said forest conservator VK Singh.The forest department sent the body for postmortem examination.
With Sen’s death, the toll in tiger attacks has gone up to 14 this year and 18 since October last year. Two farmers, aged 28 and 32, were killed in the same area earlier on Monday and Tuesday respectively.
Sen had reportedly gone to the fields in the morning to collect green fodder for his cattle. “His field is located close to the reserve forest and there are many sugarcane fields near by. The tiger must be hiding in one of the sugarcane fields before it attacked him,” said the officer.
As per Sen’s post mortem examination report, the tiger collapsed his trachea and broke the cranial vertebrae which resulted in his death. Unlike the previous attacks, the animal didn’t feed on any of his parts. “We are assuming that a single tiger is behind all three attacks which occurred this week. It killed Sen only out of fear, not for prey,” said Singh who was preparing a team of forest staff which was about to set out in search for the tiger moments before the attack occurred. The search team was disbanded and sent to the spot where Sen was killed after the attack.
{{/usCountry}}As per Sen’s post mortem examination report, the tiger collapsed his trachea and broke the cranial vertebrae which resulted in his death. Unlike the previous attacks, the animal didn’t feed on any of his parts. “We are assuming that a single tiger is behind all three attacks which occurred this week. It killed Sen only out of fear, not for prey,” said Singh who was preparing a team of forest staff which was about to set out in search for the tiger moments before the attack occurred. The search team was disbanded and sent to the spot where Sen was killed after the attack.
{{/usCountry}}Sen’s death fuelled the anger of the locals who are already enraged over the recent deaths. “Forest officials are accountable for each of the deaths taking place in our area. They are using their tigers to scare and kill us,” said Dalbir Singh, a resident of the area. This sentiment was shared by the other locals who consider forest officials their enemies .
Considering this hostility, the forest officials have asked local police for security. The superintendent of police has deployed two units of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) to accompany forest staff during its search operation in the area.
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Meanwhile, the incidents have also drawn the attention of BJP MP of Pilibhit Maneka Gandhi who is said to have directed the local administration to prevent such attacks in future.
The MP has also promised a sum of Rs 20 lakh for electric fencing of the forest. But the fencing work is yet to begin.