Published On : Mon, Jan 16th, 2023

Full-grown tigress electrocuted in Bhadravati, a farmer arrested

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Nagpur/Chandrapur: A full grown tigress was electrocuted in the fields near Majri village, under Bhadrawati forest range on Saturday night. Forest officials have arrested the farmer, identified as Punesh Patekar (35), who had put live wire around his farm, which led to the death of the tigress. This was the third case of a tiger from Chandrapur succumbing to unnatural causes in the last 14 days, media reports said.

According to the reports, the carcass of the tigress, lying around 50m from the railway crossing on Majri-Bhadrawati Road, was first sighted by a loco pilot of a train. He informed the headquarters, which in turn verified the information through local employees, and then alerted the Forest Department. By the time RFO Bhadrawati, Haridas Shinde, and his team reached, hundreds of villagers had gathered at the spot.

Senior officers including Jitendra Ramgaonkar, Field Director of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), Prakash Lonkar, CCF, Chandrapur forest circle, Prashant Khade, DCF, Chandrapur forest division, Nikita Chaure, ACF, Mukesh Bhandkkar, PCCF representative, and Bandu Dhotre, NTCA representative, too reached the spot. Dr Ravikant Khobragade, veterinary officer TATR, and Dr SJ Bawane, livestock development officer, conducted the post-mortem on the spot.

DCF Khade said that the post-mortem findings confirmed that the tigress had died due to electrocution. Electrocution marks were found on the tail of the tigress. The feline is likely to have got electrocuted while crossing the live wire, Khade said. Farmer Punesh Patekar from Majri has been booked for electrifying the farm fence. The remains of the tigress were later incinerated on the spot in presence of officers and witnesses.

The tigress was the third big cat from Chandrapur to die an unnatural death this year. Earlier, a tiger was found dead in a farm well in Bramhapuri. On Friday, a tiger rescued from the Saoli range here, died at the Gorewada rescue centre at Nagpur.