Chandrapur: Two men were killed in separate tiger attacks in Chandrapur district on Friday, taking the number of human fatalities in human-wildlife conflict to 39 this year. While a farmer was killed in Sindewahi taluka, marking the third consecutive fatal tiger attack in the range within a week, a man was mauled to death in the Chimur forest range.The deceased in the Sindewahi incident was identified as Patru Ramaji Meshram (75), a resident of Dhumankheda village. He had gone to his agricultural field around 2pm to inspect his paddy crop but failed to return home by evening.While searching, family members and villagers found his spectacles, walking stick and footwear in the field, along with bloodstains. They alerted the forest officials, who launched a search operation.Meshram’s mutilated body was eventually found near the village primary health centre (PHC). Preliminary suspicion is that a tiger attacked him in the field and dragged him away before killing him. The body was shifted to Sindewahi rural hospital for postmortem.The latest killing is the third consecutive fatal tiger attack reported in Sindewahi taluka within a week, underscoring the escalating threat in the forest-fringe villages. It is believed that the tiger responsible for two earlier human kills was involved in this third attack.The successive incidents have triggered widespread fear and anger among residents, who are questioning the effectiveness of the forest department’s preventive measures. The repeated attacks have also intensified demands for immediate intervention to prevent further loss of human lives.In another incident, Sadashiv Chirkata Khadsang (55), a resident of Gardapar village, was killed around 1.30 pm in compartment No. 380 under Gadgaon beat of Chimur range. He had entered the forest adjoining his agricultural field when a tiger attacked and killed him on the spot. Forest officials shifted his body to Chimur rural hospital for postmortem. Camera traps have been installed to monitor tiger movement, and residents of surrounding villages have been cautioned.Cattle herder seriously injured in tiger attackA 60-year-old cattle herder, Rajeshwar Bija Sidam, was seriously injured when a tiger attacked him in compartment No. 436 of the Satara Tukum forest area in Pombhurna taluka on Friday.He had taken his cattle for grazing when the tiger, reportedly lying in ambush, attacked him. Forest personnel and members of the Gondwana Andolan rushed him to Chandrapur District General Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.
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