Farmer killed in tiger attack in Beed's Ashti, dragged half a kilometre

A farmer was killed in a tiger attack in Ashti taluka of Beed district. The deceased, Devidas Takle, was a resident of Devlali. Amid drought conditions, he had gone to bring fodder for his animals when the tiger suddenly attacked him. According to information received, the tiger dragged him for about half a kilometre.

The incident has spread fear among people in Devlali, Bavi and Dhamangaon areas. Residents are demanding that the tiger be dealt with immediately.

It is said that Takle had gone to cut grass for the animals. The tiger, lying in ambush, pounced on him and dragged him far away, causing his death. When he did not return home for a long time, his son went out to look for him.

During the search, the son saw bloodstains and suspected that a wild animal had attacked his father. The tiger fled when the son shouted, but by then Takle was dead. The family has been plunged into grief.

The forest department investigated after the incident. According to Range Forest Officer Amol Munde, the post-mortem report, the injury marks on the body and the forest department's inquiry have established that the attack was by a tiger.

Munde also said a tiger has been roaming in the Ashti and Patoda areas for the past month. The forest department had traced the tiger's location to the Devlali area, so local residents had already been told to remain alert.

Trap cameras have been installed in the area to monitor the tiger's movements. Forest officials said awareness work is also under way. However, because of the drought, farmers have to go into the fields to find fodder for their animals, which makes preventing such incidents a major challenge.

MLA Suresh Dhas expressed deep grief over the incident. He said the death of Devidas Takle in a tiger attack in the Lokhandwadi area of Ashti taluka was extremely painful.

Dhas said Rajendra Golhar had earlier also died in an attack by the same tiger, called Ramling. He said senior forest department officials have therefore been spoken to about rescuing and capturing the tiger immediately. He said trap cameras are being installed and the tiger is being tracked so that the necessary action can be taken.

Dhas has appealed to people of the Daulawadgaon Zilla Parishad circle and the Devlali Panchayat Samiti area not to go alone into the fields or forested areas until the tiger is dealt with.

Fear persists among farmers and villagers of Ashti taluka after the attack. Local residents are demanding that the forest department take effective steps at once to capture the tiger and put people's safety first.