Bantala: A day after the post-mortem report of the woman who was allegedly killed by tigress ‘Sundari’ was made public, police Tuesday began a probe whether the killer was the tigress or any other wild animal.
Police have included nearly 20 people of the village in the process of investigation who claimed to be the witnesses to the incident. The tigress was eating the woman’s body at a place 200 metre away from a canal, they claimed.
The body of Kailas Sai (50) of Hatibari village inside Satkosia Sanctuary under Purunakote police limits in Angul district was found September 12. The incident sparked outrage in the region and locals torched several forest offices and five motorized boats alleging the tigress brought from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh to boost tiger population in the sanctuary had killed the woman.
Meanwhile, the Superintendent of Police made public the post-mortem report that said the death was caused by the attack by a wild animal but it was not known whether the animal was the said big cat.
Six holes around the neck of the woman were found, the report added.
A police team led by Bantala IIC Sabyasachi Rout and Purunakote IIC Bijay Hybrow Tuesday reached the spot and inspected the pugmarks spotted between a nullah and the spot where the body was found. Police have covered the pugmarks by plastic sheets to prevent destruction of evidence. Police also brought the people, who claimed they had seen the tigress feasting on the woman’s body, into the purview of investigation.
According to sources, about 20 people including Babulu Munda (32), Sudhakar Sai (40), Loknath Gadnayak (55), Duari Sahu, Somnath Gadatia, Hrushi Pradhan and forest personnel were present at the site when the tigress was eating the body.
They also pelted stones at the tigress while the forest guards burst firecrackers and used public address system to drive away the tiger, the villagers said. The IIC of Purunakote police station was also present at the site. Police brought the body to the new house of the deceased to prevent the tigress from taking the body into the deep forest, added the witnesses.
The holes found on the neck of the woman were also of a tiger and tigress Sundari was present in the region on the day of the incident. This establishes that Sundari had killed the woman, a few other villagers claimed.
IIC Bybrow said the police have begun a probe. A forensic team from Dhenkanal and SDPO Harihar Pani would join the investigating team to examine the evidence. The IIC admitted that he had seen people hounding out the tigress from near the body.
PNN
