Uttarakhand: Woman mauled to death by tiger in Pauri Garhwal

Kotdwar, Dec 6 (PTI) A woman was killed allegedly in a tiger attack while collecting fodder near her house in a village within the Kalagarh Tiger Reserve area of Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal district, police said on Saturday.

Upon receiving information about the incident, a team from the Forest Department, along with local MLA Dilip Rawat, arrived at the spot.

The incident occurred on Friday evening, around 5 pm in Rikhanikhal block of the district, when Urmila Devi was collecting fodder for her cattle with her daughter-in-law, Priya, the police said.

Hearing her child crying, Priya went back home, while Urmila Devi continued to collect the fodder leaves. However, when Urmila did not return home after some time, her daughter-in-law went looking for her, the police said.

After searching around, she found her mother-in-law in a bush near the field. Her body was lying there, and a big cat was sitting nearby, police said.

Hearing Priya's screams, villagers arrived at the spot. The big cat then went back into the forest, they said.

Speaking to PTI, local MLA Dilip Rawat said, "The district is gripped by the terror of tigers, leopards, and bears." Expressing regret over the incident, he said that if the government does not take concrete steps to prevent attacks by wild animals, he will resign from his post.

The MLA demanded that forest laws should be relaxed in accordance with the geographical conditions of the area as well as the state.

Tarun S., Divisional Forest Officer of Kalagarh Tiger Reserve, said that he reached the spot. He said people had seen a large animal, but it has not yet been confirmed whether it was a leopard or a tiger.

An investigation is underway, he added. PTI COR MPL SHS SHS