Representational Image, credit: PTI
Hyderabad : A tiger has attacked and killed a 16-year-old tribal girl in Telangana's Kumaram Bheem Asifabad district on Sunday.
This is the second incident in the district this month.
Nirmala was plucking cotton in a field near Kondapalli village in Penchikalapeta mandal when the big cat pounced on her.
The tiger dragged her for about 50 metres and she died at the scene. After the villagers raised alarm and one youth threw sickle at it, the tiger left the victim before running into the forest.
Forest officials along with police rushed to the area.
A 20-year-old tribal was mauled to death by a tiger on November 11 in Girelli forest area of Rebanna Range in Asifabad division.
An official said they were trying to find out if the same tiger was behind both the incidents.
In the first incident, the victim along with two minor boys had gone for fishing in a stream when the tiger attacked him.
The body was dragged over some distance and was partly eaten. The two boys, who accompanied the victim, rushed to Digada village and raised an alarm.
The forest officials, after studying the pugmarks, had said that the big cat might have come to the area from neighbouring Maharashtra.
The department had deployed 35 tiger trackers in seven groups to patrol the forest areas and villages adjoining the forests.
IANS report with edits