Tiger kill or murder spree??

The man-animal conflict in Chandrapur district has taken a shocking turn as two human beings claimed to be killed by wild cats turned out to be murders.
Growing number of humans killed by tigers and leopards in the forests adjoining Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur district seem to have become a source of earning huge money for villagers, as state government pays compensation of Rs 2 lakh to family members of those killed by tiger or leopard.
“Few human kills attributed to wild cat in the region are doubtful as the bodies recovered from forest contradict the claims. Possibilities of murders attributed to wild cats to earn the compensation can not be ruled out,” said a senior forest department official.
The Chandrapur police is also on alert when a case of tiger or leopard attack is reported. “We are highly cautious while investigating these cases. All the possibilities are taken into consideration before arriving to any conclusion,” said Chhering Dorje, superintendent of police, Chandrapur. According to sources, four incidents of alleged tiger kill since January this year have turned out to be murders and the forest department had held back the compensation to be paid to families. He said that a body was recovered from the forest of Junona a fortnight ago. “Initially considered to be a case of tiger attack, thorough investigations revealed that the youth was murdered and the killers abandoned the body in the forest,” Dorje said. The police later arrested six persons in connection with the murder, he added.
Band Dhotre of Ecopro, a Chandrapur based NGO said, “The authorities are trying to windup investigations as fast as possible due to tremendous political pressure. There are around four cases of murder which are attributed to wild cat,” Dhotre said. Since the onset of man-animal conflict in the region, local political leaders are trying to gain political mileage out of it and pressuring authorities to
Body of a 70-yar-old man was found in the forest adjoining village Kajalsar near Chimur around 10 days back. “According to the information gathered by our volunteers, the deceased was a known black magician and was killed over some dispute,” Dhotre said. The body, when recovered, was covered with sticks and tree branches, which is highly unlikely to be done by a tiger or a leopard, Dhotre claimed. Similarly, body of a woman found near Mul indicated a murder as it was clearly evident that her hands were cut by some sharp weapon. “Such a precision is not seen when wild cat rips apart the body,” Dhotre said.