A second autopsy was performed on the tiger that fatally attacked a woman and injured three family members in Panpatha village near Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. Following the attack, the tiger initially retreated into the forest but later returned to the village in an unusual manner and was found motionless. Forest officials, upon discovering the tiger, launched a rescue operation and tranquilized the animal, which unfortunately died during the process.
The incident took place around 3 a.m. when the tiger entered a residential area and attacked a woman, resulting in critical injuries to her husband, father, and father-in-law who came to her aid. Anupam Sahay, the Field Director of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, dismissed speculations of the tiger’s death being caused by an overdose of tranquilizers. He mentioned that preliminary findings do not support this theory and suggested that factors like heatstroke, thirst, or underlying diseases might have contributed to the tiger’s demise.
Sahay further clarified that there were no signs of fractures or injury on the tiger’s carcass, refuting claims of villagers killing the tiger out of anger. The incident led to protests by local residents against the recurring tiger attacks in the area, with reports of villagers assaulting a forest ranger and a female forest staffer. The Madhya Pradesh Forest Department has launched a thorough investigation into the matter, while the injured family members are receiving medical treatment with financial aid provided by the state government.
