Balaghat: A quiet night in a village near Kanha National Park turned into a nightmare when a tiger entered a tribal settlement, dragged a sleeping woman nearly 300 metres from her home and fatally injured her before fleeing into the forest.
The victim, Sugni Bai Dhurve, was asleep with her family in Parrapur Baigatola village in Balaghat district when the attack took place at around 1.30 am on Sunday. The village lies in the Khapa range of the buffer zone of Kanha National Park, an area where villagers have repeatedly reported the movement of big cats in recent months.
According to forest officials and local residents, the tiger grabbed Dhurve by the head and dragged her away from the hut. Her family screamed for help, prompting nearby villagers to rush out with torches and sticks. Their response forced the animal to abandon her and disappear into the surrounding forest after dragging her for around 300 metres.
Villagers immediately rushed the critically injured woman to a hospital in Baihar. However, despite medical treatment, she later died from her injuries. Block Medical Officer Dr Anant Lilhare confirmed her death.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the village, where fear has grown over repeated sightings of tigers and leopards close to human settlements. Residents say they have been living with the constant risk of wildlife straying into their villages, particularly during the night.
Assistant Director of the Sijhora Buffer Zone, Ashish Pandey, said the Forest Department has launched an inquiry into the incident. Officials have also announced a series of preventive measures, including increasing night patrols, installing a cage in the area to monitor the animal’s movement and advising villagers to keep their doors shut after dark and avoid entering forested areas at night.
Police have registered a case of accidental death, while the Forest Department has said the victim’s family will receive compensation under the government’s wildlife conflict relief scheme.
The tragedy has also sparked questions about living conditions in remote tribal villages. Local representatives alleged that Dhurve’s family was living in a hut without a proper door and had not received benefits under a Central government welfare scheme meant for particularly vulnerable tribal communities. Officials have not yet commented on those claims.
The latest fatal attack has once again highlighted the growing challenge of human wildlife conflict around India’s protected forests. As tiger populations recover and villages continue to exist close to forest boundaries, encounters between people and big cats have become increasingly frequent, posing a serious challenge for both conservation authorities and local communities.
For residents of Parrapur Baigatola, however, the debate over conservation has been overshadowed by grief. A family has lost a loved one, and an entire village is now spending its nights with a renewed sense of fear, hoping such a tragedy is never repeated.
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