Farmer mauled to death by tiger in UP's Pilibhit; 6th such incident in 2 months

Pilibhit (UP), Jul 14 (PTI) A farmer was mauled to death by a tiger that clawed his neck and chest before dragging him nearly 20 metres into a sugarcane field in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit district on Monday, officials said.

The incident, the sixth tiger attack in two months in the region, occurred in Bari Phulhar village when Dayaram, 39, stepped out of his house early in the morning to inspect his sugarcane crop. As he entered the field, a tiger lying in wait pounced on him, inflicting fatal injuries to his neck and chest and dragging his body deeper into the field.

Hearing his screams, farmers rushed to the spot but it was too late. Dayaram had already succumbed. Seeing the crowd, the tiger fled, crossing a nearby canal into another field.

Divisional Forest Officer Bharat Kumar confirmed the death and said a team had been deployed for investigation, the area had been cordoned off and security heightened.

Dayaram's death led to outrage with villagers alleging that the forest department had failed to control the increasing tiger attacks in the region. The residents demanded compensation for the bereaved family and the tiger to be immediately rescued.

Irate villagers told forest and police personnel about regular tiger sightings in the region. Multiple complaints had been filed with the forest department but to no avail, they said.

On May 14, a tiger killed a farmer named Hansraj while he was irrigating his field in Nazirganj village. Four days later, Ram Prasad was fatally attacked while peeling sugarcane in Chatipur. On May 25, a woman named Laungshree was killed during weeding in Khirkia Bargadia village.

On June 3, Reshma was dragged from her house in Shantinagar village of Hazara and killed. On June 9, a farmer from Mewatpur was also killed in a tiger attack. Dayaram is the sixth victim, according to official data.

Dayaram's body had been sent for a postmortem exam. The exact details of the attacking animal would be confirmed after that, Kumar said. PTI COR KIS ANM ANM MIN MIN