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Angul: Amid growing terror in Tainsi village under Satkosia forest reserve in Angul district, Royal Bengal tigress ‘Sundari’ allegedly killed a bullock today in a second attack within two days, at Baghamunda village, a few kilometres away from Tainsi.
Palpable tension prevailed in the area after locals spotted the mutilated carcass of the bullock early morning today.
As per reports, a four-member team comprising experts and doctors from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Nandankanan Zoological Park and gun assistants that reached Angul from Bhubaneswar yesterday night to catch the tigress and take it back to the enclosure, have not been able to visit the spot due to the prevailing tension in the area.
Alleging involvement of Sundari in the attack, the locals prevented the special four-member team from tranquilising Sundari, sources said.
Meanwhile, another team of experts from Similipal will join the current team to tranquilise the tigress, while sources claimed the forest department is waiting for the permission of local administration for tranquilisation.
“After tranquillisation, the tigress will be kept in enclosure in Raiguda. A letter has also been shot to National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife regarding further steps,” informed Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Sandeep Tripathy.
“Four forest officials have gone missing from Satkosia forest reserve since yesterday,” he added.
On Sunday, the tigress had allegedly attacked one Trinath Sahu of Tainsi village to death while he had gone for fishing.
Following the incident, the villagers reportedly thrashed and detained an Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Srikant Behera, who had visited the village to take a stock of the situation yesterday.
Later in the evening, the locals also torched a police vehicle and pelted stones at police and senior government officials injuring Angul Sub Collector, Tehsildar and Angul police station Inspector-in-charge (IIC). They alleged that the tigress has become ‘man-eater’ and demanded to send Sundari back to Madhya Pradesh.
It is pertinent to mention that the big cat was brought from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in MP in June as a part of the country’s first interstate translocation drive to boost the tiger population.
