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The carcass of the tigress. Telegraph picture |
Jorhat, Dec. 5: A Royal Bengal tigress was shot dead today after it strayed out of Kaziranga National Park, entered a village on the fringes and attacked a journalist trying to film it.
However, it is not clear who shot the big cat, with both the police as well as the park authorities denying that their staff had fired at the animal.
Park director Surajit Dutta told The Telegraph that the tigress, which probably had cubs, as there was signs of suckling, had emerged from the Kohora range and strayed into Basagaon beside the National Highway 37 early this morning.
It had snatched a pig from a house and was eating it inside a bamboo grove in one corner of the village when a crowd began to gather near it.
A team from the park also arrived to chase the animal back to park, but before they could do so, the animal, probably having panicked on seeing the crowd, ran towards National Highway 37 and charged at Ranjit Rajak, a local journalist who was trying to film it.
Constable Govinda Doley, who was part a police team patrolling the highway, leapt to Rajak’s rescue, stepping between the animal and the journalist.
The park’s director later said Doley’s colleagues may have fired at the animal to save him.
He said, according to ground information available, the forest staff did not fire at the tigress.
The director said the National Tiger Conservation Authority (Delhi) and the national park have ordered separate inquiries into the incident.
Dutta said the park authorities has sent his teams inside the range to search for the cubs.
A post-mortem of the carcass will be conducted tomorrow.
Rajak, who was hurt in his stomach by Doley’s rifle butt when the cop tried to shield him from the tiger, said he would have surely got killed had the policeman not stepped in.
The journalist, being treated at Jakhalabandha hospital, said the tiger was spotted in the backyard of one Yusuf Ali.
He tried to film the animal when it suddenly charged towards him, but missed him, thanks to Doley’s reflex.
He said he could not identify who exactly shot the tiger, as Doley was in front of him resisting the tigress.
Golaghat superintendent of police, R.A. Laskar, said Doley, a constable of 11 APBn (Dergaon) attached to the Kohora outpost, displayed considerable courage in trying to save a person’s life.
He said according to information available with him, the policemen had not fired at the animal.
“I am waiting for the official report from the police station concerned for the details of the incident,” the official said.
Laskar said Doley was undergoing treatment at the Bokakhat civil hospital for injuries received on his neck, head and the back and was stated to be out of danger.
If need be, he will be shifted to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital.
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