A tiger which has strayed into human settlements in Moradabad division has killed four persons in past 11 days, prompting forest officials to initiate process to declare it a man-eater and hunt it down.
Four persons, including two women, have been killed while another person was seriously injured by the tiger in past 11 days, Chief Conservator of Forest Mahendra Pratap Singh said today after a meeting of police and forest officials.
He said permission of UP Chief Wild Life Warden Rupak Dey has been sought to declare the tiger a man-eater.
"It has been decided in the meeting that the tiger has to be killed to save human lives and a team of hunters has been called for this," Singh said.
Senior officials of all five districts of Moradabad division participated in the meeting.
Meanwhile, wildlife expert Mohd Azim, who inspected the paw-prints of the tiger, told the officials that the beast might have been injured as it has been using only three legs.
Moradabad Commissioner Shiv Shanker Singh said awareness camps have been set up to pacify scared villagers and police and forest department officials were also patrolling the area.
Officials suspect the tiger strayed from the Jim Corbett National Park in neighbouring state Uttarakhand. The tiger reserve is about 110 kilometres from Moradabad.
