Gundlupet: In a dramatic turn of events, villagers near Bommalapura in Gundlupet locked Forest Department officials inside a large tiger trap yesterday, furious over the Department’s failure to capture a tiger that has been terrorising the area for nearly three weeks.

For the past 20 days, the tiger has been prowling the village outskirts, attacking livestock and spreading fear among residents. Despite repeated pleas, villagers allege that the Forest Department failed to take decisive action.

Calf died for nothing

After days of inaction, a large cage was brought from Tumakuru and a calf was placed inside as bait. However, villagers claim that for six to seven days, the calf was left without food or water and eventually died inside the cage, with no inspection or intervention by Forest staff.

The tiger reportedly approached the cage but showed no interest in the carcass, instead wandering into a field belonging to farmer Revanna. Villagers immediately informed officials about the tiger’s movements.

Tensions escalate

Tensions escalated when Forest personnel later arrived in a jeep. Farmers tried to stop the vehicle to share updates, but the driver allegedly ignored them and drove past. Enraged by what they perceived as sheer indifference, the villagers decided to stage a symbolic protest.

When officials entered the cage to examine the dead calf, farmers locked them inside from outside and deflated the jeep’s tyres to prevent their escape.

The situation quickly drew a crowd as villagers demanded the immediate presence of senior officers.

Responding to the tense standoff, Bandipur Sub-Division ACF N.P. Naveen Kumar, Gundlupet ACF Suresh, RFO Shivakumar, Circle Inspectors Jayakumar and Vanaraju, and SI Mahesh rushed to the spot to pacify the protesters.

Villagers accused the Department of giving empty assurances while ignoring the persistent threat posed by the tiger.

They said they have been unable to work their fields or send labourers due to fear of the predator.

With 20 days of complaints allegedly going unheard, they demanded disciplinary action against negligent staff and urgent steps to capture the animal.

After negotiations, ACF Naveen Kumar assured the villagers that elephants would be deployed immediately for a combing operation and that he would personally supervise the efforts. Following this assurance, the trapped officials were released.

FIR against five villagers for wrongful confinement

Gundlupet: In the aftermath of the dramatic protest, the Police have registered an FIR against five villagers for wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation, and obstructing Government duty.

According to the complaint, a team from the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) — DRFO Jnanashekhar, Karthik Yadav, Vinay, Forest Guard Basavegowda, and Suchitra — was travelling in a Department vehicle when they were intercepted by villagers identified as Raghu, Prasad, Deepu, Gangadhar Swamy and Revanna.

The accused allegedly blocked the vehicle, verbally abused the officials and forcibly made them disembark.

They were then taken near the tiger trap site in the Gundlupet buffer zone, where a larger group, including Santhosh, Praveen, Subramanya, Manikanta, Raghavendra, Shivanna, Rajappa, and Basavaraju, reportedly surrounded the officials with wooden logs and threatened to burn them alive.