I spotted the Royal Bengal tiger: Villager

KOLKATA: Villagers of Pitbankra at Simlapal in Bankura district on Thursday claimed to have spotted a Royal Bengal Tiger right in their village on Wednesday night.

A villager Himanshu Roy who was planning to go to the toilet, just adjacent to his shanty, said he spotted the tiger only a short distance away as soon as he opened the door. He immediately closed the door and raised a hue and cry. Soon, other villagers assembled in front of his house. "I spotted the tiger immediately after I opened the door. I was gripped by a sense of fear and raised an alarm," Roy said.

The forest officials rushed to the spot and assured the villagers that they are on their toes and will keep them safe and secure. The villagers on Thursday morning said they have found pugmarks right at the place where Roy claimed to have spotted the tiger.

Basudev Rajowar, the ranger in-charge of Simlapal and Sarenga division of the forest department, said: "We are ascertaining the claims of the villagers. Security has been strengthened in the area."

The villagers have been gripped by a sense of fear and are not venturing out of their homes even during the day unless there is an emergency. It may be mentioned that there is already a deployment of forest personnel in the forest areas of Bankura to capture the Royal Bengal tiger which has been roaming free in the forest for the past few days. Drones are being used to locate the tiger.

Following the instruction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the state Forest department and police deployed drones to carry out the search operations in the forest areas of three districts — West Midnapore, Jhargram and Bankura.

According to a forest department official, it is not possible for drones to capture clear photographs of some portions of the forest. The forest department failed to trace the tiger despite a thorough search conducted by its officials till Thursday.

The forest personnel are conducting awareness campaign in the villages of all the districts, particularly the adjoining areas, asking the villagers not to enter the forest. Tranquilizing experts have also been deployed inside the forests so that they can capture the tiger once it is sighted. The tiger was first caught on camera inside Lalgarh forest in Jhargram a few weeks ago.