Representative image.

CHANDRAPUR: A tiger that was tranquillized and ‘trapped’ in an area of 100 sq meters near Waneri village in Sindewahi range , managed to give the slip to forest officials and the Special Tiger Protection Force personnel who were standing guard throughout Friday night.

On Saturday morning, villagers were upset at the turnabout and blamed the forest officers for the tiger escape. Forest officers and cops had a tough time handling them and many altercations ensured.

In an impromptu move, the officials brought bamboo mats to cordon off around 100 sq metres of the thick shrubby area where the tiger was sitting after being tranquillized on Friday evening. Due to darkness, the foresters were unable to locate the tiger.

A force of over 100 forest staffers and STPF personnel stood guard around the enclosure for the entire night hoping to ‘net’ the comatose tiger on Saturday morning.

“The search operations began early in the morning. A JCB machine, covered with mats for protection, was deployed inside the enclosure to clear the shrubs. After a six-hour search, forest officers were shocked to find that the tiger was not inside mat enclosure,” said an eyewitness.

Soon, rumours spread that the tiger had crossed the village while chasing a wild boar. The forest team, led by RFO VB Kambli, rushed into the village to look for signs but was only confronted by angry villagers.

“People are agitated as the tiger is till at large. They confronted Kambli for failing to trap it and wanted an explanation,” said a villager at the spot.

The tiger has injured two women in Waneri and Wakal villages and has killed three women in the neighbouring Shivni range in buffer zone of Tadoba during this month. An officer involved in the operation told TOI that it is still not confirmed that the tiger that was tranquillized was the one responsible for the human attacks.

“Shivni and Sindwahi ranges are separated by a river. Though there is no clarity, the entire forest department went after the tiger on Friday only because it was found sitting near Waneri where a woman was mauled on Thursday,” said a wildlife expert who visited the scene.

Deputy director of TATR (buffer), Gajendra Narwane , who was supervising the rescue operation, did not responded to phone calls on Saturday.

