GUWAHATI: A full-grown tiger killed an armed home guard in Assam’s Orang National Park and Tiger Reserve on Wednesday night.
The incident occurred when the deceased, Dhanmoni Deka, and casual worker Md Sahajul Haque were patrolling an area as part of their regular drill.
Haque told the media the big cat had emerged from behind.
“I was about four to five metres ahead of him while we were patrolling on foot. Suddenly, his shrieks made me look back. I saw the tiger dragging him by the neck and entering the jungle,” Haque said.
He said he could do very little as he was armed with a khukri. He added that when the rifle fell from Deka’s hand, he picked it up and fired four blank shots but the tiger was not scared.
“I immediately informed others and 40 of us began a search using an elephant. We spotted his body 3 km deep inside the forest at around 9:15 pm,” Haque further stated.
Dhanmoni Deka got married barely six months ago. The park’s Field Director Pradipta Baruah said teeth marks were spotted on the neck. He also added that Orang does not have any records of tigers turning man-eaters.
The 279.83 sq km park has 26 tigers, according to the last official count in July 2023.