Killer tiger strikes again; attacks farmer within 24 hrs of killing woman in Asifabad

Locals said Rauthu Suresh received injuries on his neck when the tiger tried to kill him while he was picking cotton balls. Suresh managed to survive by freeing himself from the jaws of the tiger by raising an alarm

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Close on the heels of the tragic killing of a woman by a tiger at Easgaon village in Kaghaznagar on Friday, a farmer sustained injuries when a tiger attacked him while he was picking cotton in his farm at Dubbaguda village in Sirpur (T) mandal on Saturday.

Forest officials said Rauthu Suresh received injuries to his neck when the tiger tried to kill him while he, his wife and four others were picking cotton balls. Suresh managed to survive by getting freed from the jaws of the tiger when his wife and colleagues raised the alarm. He was rushed to a private hospital in Kagaznagar and provided basic treatment. He was then shifted to a hospital in Mancherial for better treatment. His condition was stated to be stable. He would be under observation for two days. Swab samples of the tiger were sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad for examination, officials said.

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Forest officials stated that a male migrant tiger, aged 7-8 years, which killed the woman, might have attacked Suresh. Special teams were formed for night patrolling in Sirpur (T) and Kagaznagar mandals in view of the consecutive instances of attacks by tigers on humans. Similarly, a team of officials was flying drone cameras to track the movement of the tigers. Face masks were distributed to farmers to avoid attacks by the tigers.

Morle Lakshmi, 21, a native of Gannaram village in Kaghaznagar died when a tiger mauled her while she along with six other farm laborers was picking cotton balls in a farm near Easgaon village on Friday. She was rushed to a hospital in Kagaznagar, where doctors declared her brought dead.

The consecutive instances of attacks by the tiger triggered panic among residents of around 15 villages in Kagaznagar mandal. The villagers were living in the grip of fear, following the movement of the tiger.