Tiger kills girl, grandma near Katarniaghat in UP

FAIZABAD

: A woman and her 12-year-old granddaughter were mauled to death by a Bengal tiger on the fringes of Katarniaghat reserve in Bahraich late on Tuesday evening.


This is the fifth kill by a big cat in Sujauli police station area of

Bahraich district

in the past three months. On February 8, February 28 and March 6, a woman and two children were mauled to death in as many bordering villages of the reserve.

Officials in the Katarniaghat forest range, where all the fatal attacks took place, have identified the recent victims as Sohni (55) and Nibu.

The woman was working in a field near Vishnupur village under Bardia outpost of SSB and the child was playing in the vicinity, they said. The tiger first attacked the girl and Sohni too died trying to save her, eyewitnesses told forest officials.

District forest officer Katarniaghat GP Singh said the local unit of World Wildlife Federation had given an ex gratia of Rs 20,000 (Rs 10,000 for each victim) to the bereaved family.

Field director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve Ramesh Pandey said following departmental proceedings, the Katarniaghat reserve would also release compensation money.

Sujauli station house officer Brahmanand Singh said the bodies had been sent for postmorterm to confirm the

tiger attack

.