Rajasthan Villagers Kill Tiger T-86 with Stones After He Killed Shepherd

Jaipur: A 12-year-old tiger (T-86) was allegedly stoned to death by villagers in Uliyana, near Rajasthan 's Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, after officials said they suspected it of killing a local resident.

The body of the tiger, known as T-86, was discovered in Uliyana on Sunday afternoon, showing signs of having been assaulted, according to officials.

Injury marks on the tiger's face indicated that he had been hit with stones and attacked with sharp objects like axes, an official reported. Additionally, an older wound suggested that the big cat may have been injured in a previous fight with another tiger.

On the death of Tiger T-86, CCF of Ranthambore Tiger Project Anup KR says, "Two types of injuries have been seen on his body in the postmortem report. The mouth has been hit with a sharp object. The skull bones are fractured. It seems that someone must have done this. Action will be taken as per protocol..."

After the death of 51-year-old Bharat Lal Meena in a tiger attack, about two dozen villagers attacked T-86 on Sunday afternoon, leading to his death, he said.

The wild animal's body was found at the same site from where the victim's body was recovered the previous day.

According to Kotwali SHO Rajveer Singh, Meena was grazing goats in Uliyana village next to the tiger reserve on Saturday, when the wild animal attacked him, killing him on the spot.

The tiger sat beside Meena's body until villagers arrived and began shouting, prompting the him to flee into the forest, Singh said.

Agitated over the incident, villagers blocked the Sawai Madhopur-Kundera road.

Previously, T-86 had been injured in a territorial clash with another tiger and was under monitoring by the forest department, according to officials.

"Currently, a postmortem of the tiger is underway," said Anoop K R, Field Director of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, which currently has around 70 tigers left.

(with PTI inputs)