A 60-year-old tribal farmer was mauled to death by a wild animal, suspected to be a tiger, at his cotton field along the forest fringe area near Gondhapur village in Wankidi mandal of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district on Tuesday.
The incident comes close on the heels of the reported sighting of a tigress and three cubs by locals in separate incidents near Tamsi (K) and Gollaghat villages in the erstwhile composite Adilabad district, bordering Maharashtra, in the last one week.
The deceased was identified as Sidam Bheem, a “podu farmer” of Chopanguda village in Wankidi mandal.
Sources said that a big cat pounced on him while he was working in his cotton field and injured him grievously after dragging him to a nearby hillock for about 500 metres.
On hearing his screams, the local cattle grazers raised an alarm after which the big cat fled into the nearby forest area. Bheem succumbed to the injuries on the spot.
Bheem was waiting for the joint team of officials conducting a survey of “podu” lands when the incident occurred, sources added.
The incident fuelled a wave of fear among the people living in the forest fringe areas in the old undivided Adilabad district.
It has revived the bitter memories of the killing of a tribal youth by a tiger in Dahegaon mandal in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district in November 2020.
Meanwhile, the Forest department officials inspected the spot at Gondhapur village to collect and analyse the pug marks.
When contacted, the District Forest Officer Dinesh told The Hindu that the preliminary investigation suggested that it was suspected to be a leopard that attacked the farmer resulting in his death.
A detailed investigation is under way to analyse empirical evidence, he said.
He added that special teams had been pressed into service to mount vigil and create awareness among the cattle grazers and those residing in the villages along the forest fringe areas to refrain from venturing into the forest areas for the next few days.