Latest News | Man Killed in Big Cat Attack in UP's South Kheri Forest

Lakhimpur Kheri (UP), Nov 27 (PTI) A 45-year-old man was killed by a big cat in the South Kheri Forest division here on Monday, said officials, who are yet to ascertain whether he was attacked by a tiger or a leopard.

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Rajesh Kumar Verma's body was found near the Sharda canal branch, where movement of tigers and leopards have been reported. The area is close to the Maheshpur Range of the forest, they said.

He was a resident of Kheri district's Belwa village, which comes under the Hyderabad police station limit.

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Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), South Kheri, Sanjay Biswal, confirmed that Verma was attacked and killed by a big cat. He, however, said it was yet to be ascertained if it was a tiger or a leopard.

Pugmarks at the spot will be examined in the process to identify the big cat, Biswal said and added that patrolling teams have been instructed to keep a watch on the movements of big cats.

DFO Biswal, who visited the spot, said reportedly, Verma was at his sugarcane field near the canal when he was attacked.

He said the body has been sent for postmortem. Appropriate aid would be provided to the aggrieved family according to rules, Biswal said.

Villagers going to farms, as it is the sugarcane harvesting season, had been asked to be alert, the officials said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)