Karnataka: 7-year-old boy mauled to death by tiger in HD Kote, villagers cry officials' apathy

According to sources, the tiger attacked a boy when he was playing under a tree at the farm on Monday afternoon. Charan was dragged away by the tiger and some parts of his body were eaten in the horrific incident.

Mysuru:A seven-year-old boy was killed in a tiger attack at Kallahatti village of HD Kote Taluk in Mysore district on Monday. The government has announced Rs 15 lakh compensation to the family members of the deceased in a move to placate them after they held a protest citing the forest department officials' negligence for the child's death.

According to sources, the tiger attacked a boy when he was playing under a tree at the farm on Monday afternoon. Charan was dragged away by the tiger and some parts of his body were eaten in the horrific incident. The body was found after his father Krishna Nayak, who was working at the farm, searched for his son who suddenly went missing. The family members of the boy and the villagers of Kallahatti village protested alleging negligence by forest department officials. They kept the dead body at the farm as a mode of protest.

Villagers said a tiger had been roaming in and around the village for the past week and the matter was informed to the forest department which did nothing to check the untoward incident. Kallatti villagers expressed outrage at the forest department's 'negligent ways.'

MLA Anil Chikkamadu along with forest officials reached the spot and placated the villagers. Chikkamadu has promised to provide other facilities to the family members of the government. Later, the dead boy's body was sent to HD Kote Government Hospital Mortuary for post-mortem.

A team of forest officials has started a hunt to capture the tiger that killed the boy. "We have requested villagers not to come out of their homes in the evening and inform them if they see a tiger.," DCF Harsh Kumar Naragunda said. HD Kote taluk is a forest area. Man-animal conflict is common in this part.