Bettiah: Two persons, including a woman, fell prey to back-to-back tiger attacks near the Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) in West Champaran over the past 24 hours.On Friday, a 45-year-old woman Umrawati Devi died after being attacked by a tiger near the VTR, while Aklu Yadav (65), who was mauled by a tiger on Thursday, succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Gorakhpur (UP) on Saturday.Umrawati, a resident of ward no. 13 in Naurangia, had been staying in a temporary hut near the fields for agricultural work. According to her family, she was weeding a paddy field on Friday morning when a tiger, hiding in a nearby sugar cane field, suddenly attacked her.The animal dragged her into the sugar cane field before nearby farmers, alerted by her cries, raised an alarm and chased the tiger. The big cat fled towards the forest, leaving the woman critically injured. She succumbed to her injuries on the spot.Madanpur forest ranger Nasim Ahmed Ansari said forest department personnel and Naurangia police reached the spot soon after receiving the information and recovered the body. “A tracking operation has been launched to trace the killer tiger. People in nearby villages have been advised to remain alert. Farmers have been urged to work in groups and exercise caution while going to the fields,” he said. Ansari added that compensation would be provided to the victim’s family as per forest department norms.The incident occurred less than 24 hours after another tiger attack in the VTR fringe area. On Thursday morning, Akalu was attacked by a tiger while grazing goats near Hathi Malkhanta canal in Bisaha village under Valmikinagar police station area. The tiger involved in the attack was later found dead in nearby bushes. Akalu succumbed to his injuries in a Gorakhpur hospital on Friday.Confirming the development, Valmikinagar ranger Satyam Kumar said Akalu was initially referred to GMCH-Bettiah. Owing to his critical condition, his family later shifted him to Gorakhpur for advanced treatment, where he died on Friday.The back-to-back incidents have heightened fear among villagers living along the forest boundary, prompting the forest department to intensify surveillance and appeal for greater vigilance.
