Asifabad: Killer cat continues to roam around Kaghaznagar

The suspected tiger, which was suspected to have killed a tribal farmer to death at Gondapur village in Wankidi mandal on Tuesday drifted towards Kaghaznagar on Thursday evening.

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: A big cat, which moved on the outskirts of Kaghaznagar town terrorising motorists on Thursday, was sighted again in agriculture fields triggering panic among locals on Friday.

The suspected tiger, which was suspected to have killed a tribal farmer to death at Gondapur village in Wankidi mandal on Tuesday drifted towards Kaghaznagar on Thursday evening. Locals and motorists spotted its pugmarks near a checkpost on the peripherals of the town. They shared photographs of the pugmarks on social media platforms, triggering a panic among local and motorists.

---

Some locals claimed that they sighted the carnivore, prompting authorities of the forest department to launch an operation to search the animal and to track its movement. A posse of authorities of the forest department led by in-charge District Forest Officer G Dinesh Kumar rushed to the spot and tracked its movement till late night. They resumed the operation early on Friday morning.

Dinesh Kumar told ‘Telangana Today’ that the big cat entered the forests of Kaghaznagar division possibly in search of new territory and prey. He stated that it wandered in agriculture fields and before setting its foot in the wild of Vempalli village in Kaghaznagar. He added that four animal trackers were deployed in Kaghaznagar forests, while two were fielded in Rebbena forests.

Authorities asked people in surrounding villages not to venture out during nights and suggested that they should move in groups. They advised farmers to return from agriculture fields before dusk and told the commercial establishments to close down after 7 pm. They stated that awareness was being created among the public over movement of the carnivore.

Kaghaznagar Forest Divisional Officer Vijay Kumar, Forest Range Officers Shiva Kumar, Venugopal, Inspector Ravinder, several animal trackers and volunteers of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), a

Non-Governmental Organisation and many others took part in the operation. Sidam Bheem (69) was killed when a suspected tiger or leopard mauled him when he was collecting cotton balls. It was the third human kill reported in the district from 2020 to 2022. The big cat belonging to Maharashtra is suspected to have entered the forests of Wankidi and killed the farmer.