Amravati: A 52-year-old farmer was killed in a tiger attack in Bhambora village of Morshi Tehsil on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as Charandas Wasudev Ikhe. According to police, Ikhe’s wife and son were working in their field in the morning, while the deceased was weeding cotton stalks in an adjacent field he had taken on lease. A tiger attacked Ikhe and dragged him nearly 200 feet towards a nearby nullah.The incident came to light when Ikhe’s son went to call him for breakfast. He found blood near the sickle and drag marks on the ground and raised an alarm. Farmers working nearby rushed to the spot shouting, forcing the tiger to abandon the body in the nullah and flee. By then, Ikhe had already succumbed to his injuries. His son and other farmers recovered the body and informed Morshi police.A police team led by inspector Rahul Athawale and forest department officials reached the spot. Tehsildar Sagar Dhawale, Aarti Wankhade, wife of Teosa MLA Rajesh Wankhade, and police patil Meenakshi Sable also visited the site. A spot panchnama was conducted and the body sent to Sub-District Hospital, Morshi, for postmortem.In another incident on the same day in Bhambora, a 20-year-old youth had a narrow escape. Prajal Kurwale had gone to the riverbed around 9am to fetch water. On his way back, he spotted a tiger approaching him from behind. He jumped into the river and swam to the opposite bank.The two incidents have triggered fear among farmers. Locals alleged that despite repeated tiger sightings and attacks on livestock in Morshi, the forest department has failed to take preventive measures. They demanded immediate action to track and capture the problem tiger.
