Pulpally: A 55-year-old forest range officer based in Wayanad is likely going through a bad patch. He was attacked by a tiger for the second time in five months!
T Sasikumar, who has been badly injured in the attack, has been admitted to the private medical college hospital at Meppadi. His neck has been punctured at four spots by the beast's teeth. He has also suffered injuries to his stomach, fingers and lips. Sasikumar's shoulder bone was found to be fractured.
Earlier, Sasikumar had suffered injuries when he was attacked by a tiger at Pallichira area on August 8.
In the latest incident on Sunday, Sasikumar came under attack as he, along with the team of forest personnel from the Chethalayam range, was on their way to chase away the tiger that entered the human habitat area at Kolavalli. A cage was also set up on Saturday night to capture the animal that had been spotted at Kolavalli and nearby regions multiple times over the past few days.
On Sunday afternoon, the tiger attacked the forest guards on a plot at Parakkavala. The 15-member team was heading to an area, where the local people suspected the tiger’s presence, when the tiger, which was hiding in a nearby plot, pounced on them. Others in the team hit out with their batons and made loud noises to scare away the big cat.
More forest officers and the police have arrived at the spot. Another cage was also set up in the night.
Two locals too injured
A local resident, 50-year-old Jose, was injured as he ran after seeing the tiger at Parakkavala on Sunday morning. The tiger was also spotted at the courtyard of a house where the Kudumbashree workers were scheduled to hold a meeting. A youth, Tins, who ran after seeing the tiger, was also injured.
