Two Killed, Cattle Herder Critically Injured in Three Tiger Attacks in Maharashtra's Chandrapur

Chandrapur, Oct 31 : Two persons were killed and a cattle herder was seriously injured in three separate tiger attacks in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district on Friday, triggering panic among residents of villages located near forest areas, police said on Saturday.

According to forest officials, three tiger attack incidents were reported in the district on Friday.

In the first incident, Sadashiv Chirkata Khadsang (55), a resident of Gardapar village, was attacked by a tiger around 1.30 pm while he had gone to relieve himself near his agricultural field in the Gadgaon forest range of Chimur. He died in the attack.

In another incident, 75-year-old Patru Ramaji Meshram of Dhumankheda village in Sindewahi taluka went to inspect his paddy crop around 2 pm but failed to return home. When his family members and villagers launched a search, they found his spectacles, walking stick, slippers and bloodstains in the field.

A subsequent search operation by the forest department led to the recovery of his body near the primary health centre. The tiger is suspected to have dragged him away and killed him.

In the third incident, 60-year-old cattle herder Rajeshwar Bija Sidam was seriously injured in a tiger attack in the Satara Tukum area of Pombhurna taluka. Sidam had gone into the forest to graze cattle when a tiger hiding in forest compartment number 436 attacked him.

Forest department personnel and members of the Gondwana Adivasi movement rushed to the spot and shifted him to the District General Hospital in Chandrapur, where he is undergoing treatment.

The consecutive tiger attacks have triggered panic in villages adjoining forest areas. Residents have demanded urgent measures to capture the man-eating tigers and ensure the safety of people living near the forests.