Man hurt in tiger attack in Kheri forest

Shahjahanpur: A man was injured in a tiger attack in Mailani range of forests in Lakhimpur Kheri district on Thursday. Mailani range falls in the buffer zone of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. The victim was initially admitted to a community health centre from where he was referred to a private hospital.
According to forest officials, Banwari Lal, who is in his 40s, is a resident of Ujagarpur village of Mailani, He had entered the Khareta beat of forests with a few other people when a tiger pounced on him.He sustained injuries on his hand and head. Then the big cat fled.
Divisional forest officer Anil Patel said the tiger was not a maneater. It attacked the man by chance. Forest officials are investigating this incident and a report will be submitted soon.
“So far, all the evidence we have collected shows that the tiger did not attack the man outside the forest area,” says DFO Anil Patel.
Villagers, however, claimed that Lal was in his agriculture field near the forest when the big cat attacked him.
“There are many villages near Mailani and Mohammdi range of forests where people enter the forests for poaching. Last April, a poacher was killed in a tiger attack and the forest team recovered 2 kg of peacock meat from the spot he was killed. There is a huge possibility that the victim in this attack entered the forests with his friends to hunt small animals and ran into a tiger,” said an official.