Hyderabad: In a tragic incident, a 69-year-old farmer, Sidam Bheem in Khanapur village in Wankidi Mandal of Komaram Bheem-Asifabad district was killed in a suspected tiger attack on Tuesday.
According to the forest officials, the tribal farmer was working in a cotton field when the wild cat attacked him, dragging his body towards hills, however, they are unsure whether the old farmer was attacked by a tiger or a leopard.
Villagers informed the forest department that they had seen a tiger in the morning on the same day when Bheem was killed.
On receiving information, forest department officials and animal trackers rushed to track its movements with the help of the animal’s pugmark.
The officials claimed that there was no cattle kill or any incident of tigers spotted reported in the area in the past.
District forest officer, Dinesh Kumar inspected the site and Rs 10,000 was given as immediate relief to the family of the deceased.
He also promised to provide employment to one person in the family and advised the people not to venture out for two days.
The official said that more camera traps were being placed to capture images of the movement of the animal to find out if it was a leopard or a tiger.
While it is still to be ascertained whether the attack was by a tiger or a leopard, forest officials have asked villagers not to venture out into their fields for the next two days.