Enraged by tiger attack, locals assault cops
Enraged by repeated attacks by big cats, residents of Rampura village near Pilibhit Tiger Reserve assaulted a police team on Monday. Two police constables sustained injuries and additional police force was called in to ensure law and order.
The incident came a day after an 18-year-old boy was mauled to death in the village by a tiger. Six people of the area have lost their lives in similar attacks this year. On Monday morning, people found a carcass of a calf near the village. Forest officials were called to collect it and the said police team was assisting them when villagers ran amok.
“The police team went there on the request of forest officials when around a dozen people manhandled them. Additional police teams were sent to the area after the incident and the situation is under control,” said Anurag Darshan, circle officer (CO), Pilibhit.” The injured constables were taken to a nearby hospital for medical attention. So far, police had not registered any complaint against the attackers.
A tiger from the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve had reportedly attacked and killed one Brahamswarup Singh, 18 when he was working in his field on Sunday morning. Singh was with his elder brother when the incident took place. His brother alerted the forest department but the tiger had killed Singh before the team came to the rescue. “The tiger went into a cane field after the incident and entered the forest by evening,” said divisional forest officer Kailash Prakash.
The villagers claimed the tiger was living in nearby fields since last week and the forest department was informed about it. “We alerted them about the tiger several times but they did nothing to scare it away,” said Chhote Lal, father of Brahamswarup.
Meanwhile, forest officials deployed four teams to capture the tiger. “Two more teams from Dudhwa will join in the search and capture operation. Once captured, the tiger will be relocated to the other part of the forest,” said the DFO.