Fresh maneater scare in UP after another killing

Lucknow: It has been almost a week since a maneater tiger was tranquilised and brought to Lucknow zoo, but fear continues to haunt residents of 30 villages in Pilibhit district where the tiger had killed half-a-dozen people in the past two months.

“It is not without reason that we are living under the shadow of fear. After the maneater was caught and taken away, one more person was killed by the big cat, which proves that another maneater is on the prowl,” says Gurmeet Singh, a farmer.

Divisional forest officer (DFO) Kailash Prakash, however, says the seventh killing took place because the victim (a woman) went deep into the jungle. He says the tiger did not enter human settlements.

The seventh victim, Kalavati, 55, belonged to Mewatpur village and had gone to the forest Friday evening. She was found mauled to death Saturday morning. “After Kalavati’s death, people are convinced that there are more man-eaters, but the forest officials are not ready to accept this,” says Sujit Singha, a resident of Mewatpur village.

Locals have stopped sending their children to school and those that go, are accompanied by a group of men.

Some of the residents even refused to vote. “Let the politicians get the tigers to vote. We are not going to vote unless the problem is dealt with,” a village head says.

The DFO refuted the allegation, saying six teams are monitoring the villages.