Kultali: The Royal Bengal Tiger that struck terror among locals of the Maipith area, which falls under the Kultali block of South 24 Parganas district, was caged on Tuesday morning, giving relief to the residents. A day before, the big cat pounced on a forest department staff, bit him in the neck and tried to drag him into the forest before the animal was stopped from killing the man.
Soon after the tiger was seen stalking the Maipith-Baikunthapur area, locals panicked, fearing an attack. First, a youth noticed the big cat roaming near a crematorium. Hearing this, the villagers proceeded towards the forest with sticks and found pugmarks of the animal.
Thereafter, they informed the matter to the forest department officials. Police were also informed. Forest department officials laid a trap at Nagenabad No. 9 Muller Jetty Ghat, keeping a goat as bait. Forest workers used nylon to catch the tiger but were unsuccessful in their attempt. On Monday morning, it became clear to them that the tiger could not enter the locality but evaded the net.
At that time, the Royal Bengal Tiger pounced on Ganesh Shyamal and caught him by his neck. Fellow forest department workers somehow stopped the big cat with sticks from killing Shyamal. The tiger escaped into the forest, leaving him aside. The forest worker is currently undergoing treatment at SSKM Hospital in Kolkata.
On Tuesday, forest department workers placed two cages on farmland at about 3:30 am in the morning. The tiger, which was allured with a goat, was finally caught. According to forest department sources, authorities will arrange for a health checkup of the tiger first. If all goes according to plan, the tiger will be released into the forest.
South 24 Parganas district's chief forest department officer Nisha Goswami said, "Finally, our effort to cage bore fruit. After physical examination, it will be released into the wild."
