- Tiger near Bandhavgarh Reserve killed a woman and injured three others before dying itself
- A mob attacked and injured forest officers during the rescue operation in Kherwa Tola village
- First necropsy was done at Bandhavgarh Reserve; second autopsy ordered amid speculation
The death of an adult tiger near Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh has now triggered a second autopsy, even as speculation grows over whether tranquilisation during the rescue operation had any link to the animal's death.
The six-year-old tiger had reportedly died in Kherwa Tola village, located close to the Panpatha buffer zone of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Umaria district, after killing a woman and injuring at least three others. The reserve is known to house one of the densest tiger populations in Madhya Pradesh.
The incident unfolded in the early hours of Sunday. Around 2.45 am, the tiger entered a house in Kherwa Tola and mauled 34-year-old Phool Bai to death in the courtyard. It also attacked two other members of the family, including her husband and father-in-law, before moving away towards the forest.
But in a shocking turn, the tiger returned to the same house nearly three hours later, between 6 am and 6.15 am, even as forest staff had reached the village after receiving information from guards on duty.
Senior forest and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve officials, including Panpatha Range Officer Pratik Srivastava, rushed to the spot. However, the situation soon spiralled out of control. Around 8 am, a mob of nearly 150 to 200 people attacked Range Officer Pratik Srivastava, leaving him seriously injured. In another disturbing incident, women villagers allegedly attacked Pataur Range Officer Anju Verma and held her captive inside a community centre building for nearly five to six hours.
Senior police and administrative officials later reached the village with heavy force. By around 1 pm, a team of veterinary experts from Bandhavgarh reached the house where the tiger was still present.
The rescue team climbed onto the thatched roof of the house and found a grim scene inside. The tiger was lying motionless in one part of the house, while the woman's body was in another portion.
According to forest officials, no movement was seen in the tiger before the tranquiliser dart was fired. The darting, they said, was necessary to safely confirm the animal's condition. Even after being darted, the tiger remained motionless.
Meanwhile, anger outside the house turned violent. The crowd allegedly shouted abuses at forest officers, smashed the windows of a forest department SUV and vandalised two to three other vehicles with sticks, rods and stones. The mob also tried to overturn the SUV, dragged forest staff out and assaulted them.
Several forest personnel were seriously injured in the attack. Those injured include Mukesh Ahirwar, Range Officer, Manpur, Shanti Mishra, Forest Guard Pankaj Chandel, and Jitendra Dwivedi, vehicle driver. They are undergoing treatment at Government Hospital, Manpur.
Later on Sunday, the tiger's necropsy was conducted at Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve as per NTCA protocol. However, amid rising speculation and under instructions from senior authorities, a second post-mortem was ordered.
On Monday, the tiger carcass was brought to the School of Wildlife Forensics and Health in Jabalpur, where a fresh examination was conducted by three veterinary doctors: Dr Nidhi Rajput of SWFH Jabalpur, Dr Abhay Sager of Mukundpur, and Dr Shanti Deshmukh of WCT.
The re-postmortem was carried out in the presence of the NTCA representative from the Regional Office, Nagpur, the Bandhavgarh Field Director, officials from SWFH Jabalpur, an invited pathology professor from NDVSU Jabalpur, and an assistant professor from SWFH.
Before beginning the examination, the committee reviewed the entire sequence of events and was provided with photographs and videos of the first post-mortem conducted at Bandhavgarh. The team then independently conducted the second examination.
During the post-mortem, samples from all major organs were collected. The entire procedure was photographed and videographed. Officials said the exact cause of death will be known only after the post-mortem report and laboratory analysis of the samples are completed in the coming days.
The tiger's death has triggered questions because Bandhavgarh veterinarians had fired a tranquiliser dart during the operation. This led to speculation about whether the darting had any role in the animal's death.
However, senior wildlife wing officials at the State Forest Department headquarters in Bhopal have rejected such speculation. They said the tiger showed no visible signs of violent reaction when the dart was fired from the rooftop. According to them, the animal was already lying motionless before darting, and the tranquilisation was carried out only to safely verify its condition.
For now, the second autopsy has become crucial. It will determine whether the tiger died due to injury, stress, natural causes, human conflict-related trauma, or any other factor.
