By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Ramnagar, 5 Jan: Panic gripped the Ramnagar Forest Division in Nainital district yesterday evening after a tiger attack claimed the life of a labourer in the Patkot area of the Kota Range. The incident occurred at Bhalon village under the Patkot area, where a tiger attacked a labourer engaged in pipeline-laying work and killed him on the spot. However, acting swiftly, the Forest department launched an intensive operation soon after and managed to successfully tranquilise and capture the attacking tiger within about five and a half hours of the incident.
It may be reminded here that the tiger killed the worker at around 6:45 p.m. yesterday. The deceased has been identified as Abhimanyu Kumar, son of Bhagelu Sah, aged 30, a resident of Jokatiya under Majhaulia police station in Bettiah district of West Champaran in Bihar. He had come to Ramnagar for pipeline-laying work being carried out by the Irrigation Department. The incident naturally triggered fear and outrage among local residents.
On receiving information, the Ramnagar Forest Division went on alert immediately. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Dhruv Singh Martolia said that immediately after the incident was reported, joint teams from three forest ranges, along with a veterinary team and the Quick Response Team, were rushed to the spot. The forest teams reached the site at around 7 p.m. and launched a search and monitoring operation.
Meanwhile, anger mounted among villagers following the incident. The local residents alleged that although information about the tiger’s presence in the area had been repeatedly conveyed earlier, no effective preventive action was taken. The villagers staged protests when even an hour after the incident, the DFO and the SDO Ankit Badola did not reach the spot.
Senior Veterinary Officer of Corbett Tiger Reserve Dr Dushyant Sharma said that he was in Joshimath at the time but rushed to Bhalon village with his team as soon as information about the tiger’s presence was received. The veterinary and rescue team reached the village at around 7:30 p.m. and began preparing for the operation.
Dr Sharma reminded that the tigers are known to return to the site of a kill, tracking the scent of their prey. Keeping this behaviour in mind, the team waited for the animal to reappear. Late at night, at around 11:30 p.m., the tigress returned to the incident spot and was immediately darted with a tranquilliser gun. After sustained efforts and careful coordination, the animal was successfully sedated.
DFO Dhruv Singh Martolia said that after being tranquilised, the tigress was safely placed in a rescue van and shifted to the rescue centre located at Dhela. He said the entire rescue operation was carried out with due caution and in strict adherence to safety protocols. He also shared that the rescued tigress is a female, estimated to be around two to two-and-a-half years old and is fully healthy. She will be kept under continuous observation at the rescue facility.
As part of the investigation, hair samples found on the body of the deceased labourer and hair samples of the tigress have been collected for DNA analysis and will be sent for examination to confirm the sequence of events.
Meanwhile the local representatives have strongly criticised the Forest Department. Village Pradhan Dharmendra Kumar alleged that the tiger had been frequently sighted in the area for quite some time and repeated alerts had been given to forest personnel, but no effective measures were taken. He said that due to the tiger’s movement, the villagers were living in fear and were forced to remain indoors even during the daytime. The locals stated that near Patkot Inter College, tigers are often seen, but despite this, the Forest Department continued to display negligence.
The latest incident has once again highlighted the growing man-animal conflict in Uttarakhand. This was the third tiger attack reported within a week in the state. What should also be a matter of concern is the fact that the tigress who has been rescued late last night, is just about two and half years old and is also stated to be healthy, which means that even healthy tigers are beginning to attack humans in the region. Earlier, two women were killed in tiger attacks in Kyari village of Totam and in the Sanwalde area. Over the past year, several fatal tiger attacks have been reported in and around the Ramnagar Forest Division and Corbett landscape. On 7 January 2025, Shanti Devi was killed in the Kosi Range of the Ramnagar Forest Division. On 9 January 2025, Bhuvan Chandra Belwal was killed by a tiger in the same Kosi Range, while on the same day, Prem Singh was killed in a tiger attack in Sanwalde under Corbett. On 26 May 2025, Vinod Kumar was killed by a tiger in Haldua of the Terai West Forest Division. More recently, on 2 January 2026, Sukhiya Devi, aged 65, wife of Chandan Singh, was killed by a tiger while collecting firewood in the forests of the Dhela Range of Corbett Tiger Reserve.
Following the latest killing, fear prevails in the area. The Forest department has once again appealed to residents to remain alert and exercise extreme caution in forest fringe areas.
