ADILABAD: A 21-year-old woman, M Laxmi, lost her life in a tiger attack while working in an agricultural field in Nazrulnagar village, Kagaznagar mandal, Kumrambheem Asifabad district on Saturday morning.
According to locals, the tiger was startled by loud noises made by a group of 30-40 villagers after it killed cattle in the area. In panic, the big cat moved toward the fields, where daily wage laborers were working. Laxmi, who was picking cotton, was attacked from behind. Other workers raised an alarm, and the tiger fled into the nearby forest.
Laxmi was rushed to Kagaznagar hospital in an ambulance, but doctors declared her dead on arrival. Following the incident, her family members and villagers staged a protest in front of the Forest Divisional Office in Kagaznagar, demanding justice and an ex gratia of `50 lakh.
The government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the victim’s family as per established norms. The family has been asked to provide details for processing the compensation.
Forest officials suspect the tiger might be the same one spotted near Goigaon in Wankidi mandal, along the Telangana-Maharashtra border who has been named “Johnny”.
Kumrambheem Asifabad DFO Neeraj Tibrewal confirmed that tracking teams are monitoring the tiger’s movement.
4th tiger attack death since ’22 in erstwhile Adilabad
The DFO added that the tiger is likely to have migrated from Maharashtra and entered a new route previously unused by the big cats. Officials are creating awareness among villagers, advising them to work in groups and restrict field activities to between 10 am and 4.30 pm.
Laxmi is the person to have died in tiger attacks in the last four years in the erstwhile Adilabad district. The other three tiger attack victims were Siddam Bheem in 2022 and Vignesh and Padula in 2020 in Nirmal.
Meanwhile, Forest Minister Konda Surekha said that the government will give `10 lakh ex gratia to the family of Laxmi. She advised farmers not to venture into the forest area before 10 am and after 5 pm. In the recent past, tiger movements were observed in Adilabad, Asifabad and Nirmal districts. The officials suspected that two tigers are roaming in the erstwhile Adilabad forest in this season.