In a fresh incident of man-animal conflict that occurred late Friday night, a youth was mauled to death by a tiger near Salai (Mokasa) village in Parseoni taluka while tending to his bull in the fields. The deceased named Dinesh Wamanrao Khandate (35), was a resident of Hetikheda (Pendhari) village of Saoner taluka. Following the attack, officials from the Forest Department and local police conducted a panchnama. The body was then sent to the Parseoni Government Hospital for post-mortem. As per the information,

 

Hetikheda village is situated adjacent to the forest area. The agriculture land of the diseased also is situated close to the forest. Khandate was in his agriculture field when a tiger attacked him. When he did not return home, his family members and villagers started searching for him near the agriculture field and in the forest area. During the search, the villagers found Khandate’s mutilated body in the forest. On Saturday morning, villagers with family members created scene at the forest office demanding compensation.

 

Later, Forest Department paid a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family on immediate basis. The incident has created panic among the villagers. Forest Department has installed camera traps and intensified patrolling in the area. The incident has once again raised concerns about the increasing human-wildlife conflict in the region. Forest officials are expected to initiate further measures to monitor tiger movement in the area and ensure safety of the villagers residing nearby.