Woman killed in tiger attack in Gondia; second big cat attack in two days

A 65-year-old woman was killed in a tiger attack in Maharashtra's Gondia district when she had gone to collect tendu leaves on Sunday morning, a forest department official said. Shobha Haridas Rahate, a resident of Vadegaon Bandya village in Arjuni Morgaon tehsil, was mauled to death by the big cat in compartment number 775 of Gothangaon forest range, he said. ''After her daughter-in-law, who was accompanying her, and others raised an alarm, the tiger fled into the thicket. A Rapid Response Team from Navegaonbandh has been called in and camera traps as well as a cage have been installed in the area to capture the animal,'' Range Forest Officer Milind Pawar said. Immediate compensation of Rs 50,000 was given to her kin, while the remaining amount will be disbursed after completion of formalities, he added. The incident comes a day after 47-year-old Sunita Chandrakumar Hatwar, a resident of Bondgaon Surban, was injured in a tiger attack. Presently, people in several parts of the district are engaged in collecting mahua flowers and tendu leaves, which form a large part of their income cycle, but their venturing into dense forests also triggers such attacks, officials said.

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