Man-eater tiger captured in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur

A man-eater tiger responsible for killing four people in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district was captured by Forest officials after protests by villagers. The tiger has been shifted to a transit treatment centre in Nagpur.

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: A man-eater tiger was finally captured by Forest officials in Chandrapur district of neighboring Maharashtra on Friday, bringing respite to locals.

A tiger inhabiting Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur district killed four persons, triggering concern among villagers in recent times. Locals staged protests demanding the officials to capture the killer tiger and to prevent further human casualties. Hundreds of villagers blocked Aheri-Chandrapur highway seeking preventive measures and compensation to kin of the victims.

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In the latest instance, the tiger mauled Nilkanth Bhure (60), a former Sarpanch of Shivra village while he was visiting his farm in Dhaba forest range on October 28. It earlier killed another farm laborer and two farmers in the same region in a gap of eight days in different parts of Dhabha and surrounding ranges, sparking fear and resentment among the villagers. The consecutive deaths prompted the Forest officials to trap the tiger.

The officials launched an operation to cage the man-eater tiger. They set a cage in the forests and successfully captured the tiger in the forests of Pemburni Taluq of Chandrapur district under the supervision of veterinary doctor Kundan Podchalwar and RFO Kishore Gourarkar. They then shifted the tiger to a transit treatment centre in Nagpur city.

Officials said that 37 people have lost lives in wildlife attacks across Chandrapur district in this year so far. Of them, 33 casualties were caused by tiger attacks, while the remaining involved leopards, elephants and bears. A compensation of Rs 20 lakh is being extended to family members of those who were killed in the wildlife attack.