UP farmer critically injured in tiger attack, 6th in 3 weeks

Lakhimpur Kheri, May 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) A 45-year-old farmer was critically injured by a tiger in the south Kheri Forest division in Uttar Pradesh -- the sixth such incident in the area in the past three weeks.

The victim, Ayodhya Prasad, was working in his sugarcane field in Bojhwa village, about 2 km away from Mohammadi Forest range, when the tiger pounced on him on Sunday, causing severe injuries on his neck.

He was rescued by other farmers working in nearby fields and rushed to Gola community health centre.

After receiving medical aid, Prasad has been shifted to district hospital where his condition is said to be critical.

Divisional forest officer Sanjay Biswal said: "The size of the pugmarks found near the attack spot indicates that the tiger is an adult. Tigers mistake cropped fields for forest canopy at times and, therefore, their movement in agricultural fields close to the periphery of forest is not unusual in the early hours or after sunset. Villagers should take precautions in accordance with the advisories released from time to time.

"Since the attack happened outside the forest area, the case would be referred to the state government for necessary compensation to the victim's family."

On April 11, a 16-year-old boy, Tausif Ali from Pareli village in Lakhimpur Kheri, was injured in a tiger attack while he was grazing his goats near the Mohammadi forest range.

A 30-year-old farmer, Harmesh Singh of Khairatia village, and Akash Diwakar, 18, from Sahen Khera village were mauled to death by the big cats on April 18 and 23, respectively.

Source: IANS