Curfew in several Uttarakhand villages after two dead in tiger attacks

“Based on letters sent by Landsdowne SDM, Tehsildar Rikhnikhal and Tehsildar Dhumkot, it is informed that one person each died in Rikhnikhal and Dhumakot respectively on Thursday and Saturday in a tiger attack. The incident has caused panic among locals, and there is also a serious possibility of the tiger attacking again. Keeping this in mind, 10 villages under Rikhnikhal and 15 villages under Dhumakot will be under curfew from 7 pm to 6 am till further orders. This is to ensure that the locals do not unnecessarily leave their houses in the night,” read the order.

On Thursday, 73-year-old farmer Birendra Singh was attacked by a tiger while he was working in his field. The tiger dragged him away into the bushes and mauled him to death. The incident took place in Dalla village in the Rikhnikhal tehsil area. According to local residents, the farmer was harvesting his wheat crop when the tiger pounced on him from behind. While some people heard his cries for help, the tiger had disappeared by the time they reached with canes and sticks.

The second incident took place under the Dhumakot tehsil area where one Ranveer Singh Negi (75) was attacked and killed by a tiger. Negi, a retired employee of the education department, lived alone at his house close to the forest. It is suspected that he was attacked on Saturday as his body was recovered the next day from some bushes around 100 metres from his house.

The administration and the forest department have installed cameras in the area to trap the big cat. Teams from the Kalagarh Tiger Reserve and Garhwal Forest Division have been deployed for night patrolling in the area. Drones are also being used to patrol the area since a full-grown tiger was spotted there. The forest department has also installed a cage in the village to catch the tiger.