Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A tiger allegedly attacked a woman in Parrapur village under Baihar police station limits in Balaghat district late on Saturday night. The animal reportedly dragged her for around 300 metres after the attack.
When the woman's family members raised an alarm, the tiger fled, leaving her behind. She was rushed to the Baihar health centre but succumbed to severe injuries on her neck and head.
The village is located in the buffer area of Kanha Tiger Reserve. The deceased was identified as Sugni Bai (45), wife of Budhram. On Sunday, the woman's post-mortem was conducted and her body was handed over to family members for the last rites.
Following the incident, security has been stepped up in the area and efforts are underway to identify the tiger involved in the attack.
When contacted by Free Press, assistant director of Sijhora Buffer Zone Ashish Pandey said that as the hut had no door, it could not be ascertained whether the tiger entered the hut and dragged the woman out or whether she had stepped outside to answer nature's call when she was attacked. The incident is under investigation.
This is not the first such incident in the Balaghat area. Every year, a few such incidents are reported in which people are killed in tiger attacks.
However, the growing number of such incidents has heightened concerns over human-animal conflict in the region.
