Five-year-old boy killed in tiger attack on Diwali in Bhandara village

A five-year-old boy was killed in a tiger attack at Donad village in Lakhandur tehsil of Bhandara district on Diwali, while the area was celebrating the festival. The child had gone to the field with his parents. The tiger pounced on him suddenly and dragged him about 200 metres as his parents looked on.

Sachin Dayaram Burde, a 45-year-old farmer of Donad, had gone to the field on Thursday, November 5, with his wife Sonali to tie bundles of paddy. Work was under way in the field after the harvest of the monsoon paddy. With schools closed for Diwali, their 10-year-old daughter and five-year-old son came to meet their parents in the field at around 3 pm. A tiger hiding in the field then attacked the boy. Before anyone could understand what was happening, the tiger seized him in its jaws and dragged him about 200 metres.

Seeing the tiger leap at his son, Burde began shouting loudly for help. Farmers working in nearby fields ran to the spot on hearing him. By then, however, the tiger had badly injured the child. The boy's body was found some distance away. The tiger had held him by the neck, causing serious injuries. On the day the lamps were to be lit in the family's home, grief engulfed the Burde family.

On receiving information about the incident, a team from the forest range office at Lakhandur and the police reached the spot. A panchnama was prepared in the presence of Police Patil Bharti Ramlal Nagose and Sarpanch Shivdas Burde. The body was then sent for post-mortem.

The incident has spread fear in Donad and nearby villages. Farmers and their families face a threat to their lives while working in the fields, and the issue of wild animal attacks has come up once again. Villagers have demanded that immediate action be taken on the tiger threat, that firm measures be put in place for people's safety, and that the government give the Burde family substantial financial assistance.