Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A 45-year-old woman who went into the forest to collect tendu leaves was allegedly killed by a tiger in Seoni district on Sunday. This is the third tiger attack in the past one-and-half months in the district.
According to Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Surendra Tiwari some villagers said woman was attacked by a leopard and some said she was attacked by a tiger. “A team of forest officials is on the spot. We are verifying on basis of pugmarks whether she was killed by a tiger or a leopard,” he said.
The incident took place in Kanhiwada Forest Range of South Seoni division. The forest range is situated near Pench Tiger Reserve. The deceased has been identified as Sushma Rahangadale, 45, a resident of village Ratanpur under Ugali police station area.
According to information, the woman along with other villagers had gone to forest to collect tendu leaves. The wild animal grabbed her by the neck and dragged her into deep forest. On hearing her shout for help, other villagers ran towards her. By the time they could save her, the animal had killed her and escaped from the spot.
District forest officer Surendra Tiwari said a team of forest officials had been sent to spot further action. “During preliminary investigation, deep injuries have been found on woman’s neck. We have started to locate the tiger,” he said.
Notably, the forest of Ugali area, which is a regular forest and comes under Kahniwada forest range, is considered to be a corridor for tigers between Pench Tiger Reserve and Kanha Tiger Reserve. Frequent movement of tigers are seen in this area.
On April 2, 58 year-old Ghasiram, a resident of village Erma, was killed by a tiger in the Kurai range. Similarly, a 15-year-old Shashipyari, a resident of Lahngi Gaon, was killed by a tiger on April 3. The duo had gone into a forest area to collect mahua flowers.
Confirming the both incidents, Tiwari said, “Because of the increasing population, some tigers of Pench Tiger Reserve, situated close to this area, have made their territory in this forest.”
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