Woman’s death sparks outcry; villagers accuse Forest Department of inaction, negligence 

Nanjangud: A 50-year-old woman grazing her cattle fell victim to a tiger attack on the outskirts of the Hediyala Range in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve at Balloora Hundi, falling under the Nanjangud taluk of Mysuru district yesterday. The incident unfolded as the woman attempted to rescue her cattle from the tiger’s assault.

The deceased, identified as Rathnamma, a resident of Balloora Hundi village, had her body partially consumed by the attacking tiger before being discovered by villagers. The tiger dragged her body over a distance of more than 3 km before abandoning it after consuming a portion. The attack occurred while she was grazing cows with two other women. Two other women narrowly escaped by fleeing to safety and promptly alerted the villagers. They located her body and informed the forest officials.

RFO (Hediyala Range) K.R. Narayan and other officials rushed to the scene, taking measures for a postmortem examination at Nanjangud Hospital and filing a case. Balloora Hundi in Devirayashettipura Gram Panchayat, approximately 35 km from Nanjangud in Mysuru district, has heightened concerns among villagers due to the tiger’s menacing presence.

Notably, a tiger had attacked Veerabhadra Bhovi, 72, a resident of Mahadevanagar near Hediyala range a month ago. Villagers alleged that the Department had not acted on the previous incident, leading to the latest attack. Despite complaints, the Forest Department’s lack of discernible action has been a point of contention.

Villagers claim it was the same tiger that attacked Veerabhadra Bhovi now attacked Rathnamma. However, Director of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Ramesh Kumar, informed reporters that villagers often disregard the caution of forest personnel, attempting to rescue their livestock from wild animal attacks and risking their lives.

Ramesh Kumar cited a previous incident in which Farmer Balaji Naik of Kaadabeguru lost his life to a tiger attack on Nov. 6 while trying to save his cattle. Despite subsequent combing operations, the elusive tiger remains uncaught. Kumar announced plans to install cages and cameras in the vicinity of the tiger attack, to launch operation to trap the big cat today.