Nagpur: A man-eater tiger that had claimed two human lives and some livestock in villages around Deolapar near Pench Tiger Reserve was tranquillised on Tuesday, ending weeks of fear that had gripped forest fringe settlements in the region.The approximately 4-year-old male tiger was darted near Bandra village in compartment 485 of Deolapar forest range. The operation was carried out by Dr Priyal Chouragade, veterinary officer at the Transit Treatment Centre (TTC), and Vivek Rajurkar, forest range officer at Pench. Both shooters worked in tandem as a team and tranquillized the tiger, which had come to finish off the prey. The tiger was caged and transported to Nagpur, arriving in the early hours of the night. Officials said an old wound was found on the animal and treatment was initiated.The search that led to the capture was conducted by a joint team comprising TTC staffers Chetan Baraskar, Bandu Mangar, Swapnil Bhure and Praveen Mankar, alongside rapid response teams of Pench and Deolapar. Govinda Luche, assistant conservator of forests, Rajurkar and SB Tule, forest range officer of Deolapar, supervised the operation along with the full ground team.Two human kills, one on February 8 and another on February 20, were attributed to the tiger. The attacks had sent panic through Savara and surrounding villages, with residents stepping out cautiously after dusk and demanding visible forest patrols.In the last week of February, Ramtek MP Shyam Barve had chaired a meeting with the state forest department, during which it was decided to intensify the search and deploy drones, additional personnel and camera traps across identified wildlife movement corridors. Former state minister Rajendra Mulak also attended the meeting and raised concern about safety of people living near the forest fringe. The aerial and ground surveillance set in motion after the meeting is believed to have narrowed the tracking operation.The tiger is currently under medical observation at the TTC.
