A tiger was killed after coming in contact with a live wire trap allegedly laid by a member of the forest department's watchman team to kill pigs in Majhgavan area in Madhya Pradesh's Satna district, an official said on Saturday.

Fearing that it would land him in trouble, the watchman and a few others buried the tiger carcass deep inside the forest soon after the incident, which took place in May, the official said.

"We got information four-five days back that a tiger had been hunted somewhere and its carcass buried. We deployed informants for confirmation. The site was discovered but a search there by the dog squad and staffers was unsuccessful," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Satna, Mayank Chandiwal, told PTI.

An informant then identified several names, including that of a security committee employee of the forest department, the official added.

"When questioned, the employee revealed the location where the tiger was buried. He then revealed that a electric wire fence had been installed to hunt pigs. The tiger died after getting trapped in it, and out of fear, the staff buried it near the site," Chandiwal said.

The site was found on July 2 and the samples from the highly decomposed body are being examined by the forensic team, he added.

Five to seven persons have been identified in connection with this incident, and two of them have been arrested, the official informed.

Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey said the killing and burial of the tiger in Sarbhanga forest was highly condemnable.

"This makes 40 tiger deaths in Madhya Pradesh, home to the largest population of the big cat. The lack of intelligence and accountability results in the low conviction rate of poachers, which clearly reflects that the entire system is compromised," he alleged.