A tiger entered a residential area near Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh in the early hours of Sunday, allegedly killing a woman and injuring four others.
The incident occurred around 3 am at Kherwa Tola locality in Panpatha village.
The incident triggered protests by angry locals, who allegedly assaulted a forest ranger and manhandled a woman forest staffer over repeated tiger attacks in the region.
Villagers accused forest officials of failing to respond promptly despite repeated calls for help and claimed the tiger was still roaming nearby.
The protest by angry villagers delayed efforts to launch a rescue operation for the big cat.
"The tiger killed a woman and injured three to four persons," Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve deputy director Anupam Sahay told PTI after reaching the spot.
Locals identified the deceased as Phool Bai Pal (40).
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav later said he has directed officials to provide an assistance of Rs 25 lakh to the family of the deceased woman and free treatment to the injured persons.
The protesters allegedly did not allow officials and police personnel to take the body for post-mortem examination.
"We are in talks with the district administration to shift the body out of the village and launch efforts to rescue the tiger," Sahay said.
After the tiger attack, angry villagers allegedly assaulted Panpatha ranger Prateek Shrivastava, causing injuries to him.
A woman forest staffer was also allegedly manhandled and briefly prevented from leaving the area by protesters angry over repeated tiger attacks, sources said.
Congress leader and janpad panchayat member Roshni Singh Dhurve reached the village and tried to pacify the protesters.
She later helped secure the release of the forest officials, the sources added.
Forest teams shifted the injured persons to the hospital for treatment.
A "law-and-order situation" had arisen in the area and efforts were underway to bring it under control, Panpatha forest sub-divisional officer Bhura Gaikwad said.
Police security has been deployed in the village, officials said.
CM Yadav, in a post on X, termed the incident sad and expressed condolences to the bereaved family.
He directed officials to provide financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh to the family of the deceased woman and ensure free treatment and compensation for the injured persons.
In another recent incident of human-animal conflict, four women collecting tendu leaves were killed in a tiger attack in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district on Friday morning.
(With inputs from PTI)
