Wayanad tiger killing woman: locals demand to kill rogue feline
text_fieldsWayanad: Following the death of a 47-year-old of scheduled caste by a man-eating tiger, intense protests erupted in Mananthavady here, demanding that the rogue animal should be killed or captured alive. The victim, Radha, was mauled by the tiger while she was out plucking coffee at the Priyadarshini Estate in Mananthavady village on Friday morning, PTI reported.
After her mortal remains were handed over to her family and the funeral was over, locals turned up outside the forest officials' base camp and demanded that the tiger be killed.
They sought to know why the forest officials were trying to cage the animal when there was an order to shoot it down, according to visuals shown on TV channels.
The forest officials clarified that the order issued by Chief Wildlife Warden Pramod G Krishnan on Friday had directed that maximum effort be put to cage or tranquilise the feline in accordance with the guidelines and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, failing which to shoot it down.
However, the protestors, which included tribal women living in the estate, were not satisfied, and the protest continued outside the base camp.
Tensions heightened further later in the afternoon when District Collector Meghashree D R did not arrive at the base camp at the time fixed for a discussion with the protesting local residents.
More than an hour after the stipulated time, the ADM reportedly arrived at the base camp and held talks with the locals regarding their demands and apprehensions over the tiger being still at large.
The protest outside the forest department's base camp was called off for the day only after the ADM arrived.
Later, an alleged sighting of the tiger by some kids in the area led to the local residents, police and forest officials mounting a search for the feline, with drones also being pressed into service to get an aerial view, according to visuals on TV channels.