Unusual protest: Angry villagers lock forest officials in the very cage meant for the rogue tiger, which is still on the loose
Irate villagers lock forest officials in tiger cage in Karnataka
Bommalapura residents lock staff inside trap meant for rogue tiger, demanding urgent action after weeks of fear and inaction
Frustrated by the forest department’s failure to capture a rogue tiger, Bommalapura residents took matters into their own hands on Tuesday (September 9).
In a fit of anger, the villagers of Bommalapura in Gundlupet taluk, Chamarajanagar district, locked up the forest officers inside the very cage meant to nab the tiger, which has been terrorising them for over a month now.
“If you cannot catch the tiger, then you sit inside the cage yourselves!” – the irate villagers told the befuddled forest department staff.
Tiger menace intensifies
For over a month now, the tiger menace had intensified in Bommalapura and in the surrounding forest-fringe villages. People were afraid to venture out into their fields or step out of their homes at night. Despite making repeated appeals to the forest department, no concrete action was taken to capture the tiger.
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However, under mounting pressure, the department had installed a cage trap. And subsequently, neither the officers nor the staff visited the area again.
Losing patience
The villagers claimed that the department had completely failed to capture a tiger which had been roaming around for the past month, killing cattle and spreading fear.
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Since there was no sign of the forest staff capturing the tiger, the villagers lost patience and intercepted the forest staff who were visiting the village and rebuked them for not catching the tiger and just giving them false assurances. They then locked the staff inside the tiger trap, insisting they would not release them until senior officials arrived at the spot.
Forest staff released
Soon, Gundlupet range ACF Suresh and Bandipur range ACF Naveen Kumar rushed to the village and tried to pacify the residents. Heated arguments broke out between the officials and the villagers. The angry villagers complained, “We are living every day in fear of wild animals, holding our lives in our hands, while you show negligence.”
Finally, after officials assured the villagers that combing operations using elephants would be immediately launched to capture the tiger, the locals agreed to release the staff from the cage.