Elderly man killed by tiger near Bandhavgarh; MP toll rises to 22 this year

Bhopal: A 60-year-old man was killed in a tiger attack in the Panpatha buffer zone of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh’s Umaria district on Thursday, taking the number of people killed in tiger attacks in the state this year to 22.The victim, Annu Rajak, had gone into the forest in the Uttar Paljha area to collect mahua seeds when he was attacked by the big cat.After he failed to return, family members and villagers began searching for him and found his shoes and shirt under a mahua tree. A search operation was then launched by Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve staff with the help of trained elephants.His body was later found in bushes inside the forest. Forest officials said preliminary investigation indicates that he died in a tiger attack.

Police and forest department teams reached the spot and initiated further action.The incident is the third tiger attack reported in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve landscape this month. A woman was killed in a tiger attack on June 12, followed by the death of a young man on June 13.With the latest incident, the toll in tiger attacks across Madhya Pradesh has risen to 22 so far this year.