A protest march organised by angry villagers turned violent yesterday,
Paatavayal area in Tamil Nadu's Niligiris district, where a woman was killed by a tiger two days ago, remained tense on Monday.
All local schools have been shut as a precautionary measure and angry villagers have demanded that the administration immediately take steps to capture the tiger.
Mahalakshmi, 34, was killed by the tiger while she was at work in a tea estate adjoining the Bitherkad forest on Saturday. The tiger also attacked another worker of the tea estate, 30-year-old Ratish, who is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kerala's Kozhikode.
A protest march organised by angry villagers yesterday turned violent when the protesters reportedly set fire to a few vehicles, demanding that government officials immediately take steps to kill the tiger. They also demanded Rs 10 lakh as compensation; the state government had given Rs 3 lakh to the family of the victim.
The administration has said that a drive has been launched to capture the tiger and all schools in the area will remain shut till the animal is captured.
"We have communicated the people's demand for a higher compensation to the government," said District Magistrate Dr P Shankar.
Last year, three people were killed in attacks by a tiger in Nilgiris district; it was later shot dead by forest department guard.