Pilibhit tigress kills 3, evades capture; 18 schools shut indefinitely

Representative image

Eighteen government schools across 15 villages in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district have been closed indefinitely after a tigress, suspected of killing three people, continued to evade capture despite a week-long operation. The latest victim, a woman, was mauled on July 17 in Bithra Mandaria, according to a TOI report.

The order to shut schools was issued by Basic Shiksha Adhikari Amit Kumar Singh on Saturday, following a request from divisional forest officer Bharat Kumar DK and approval from district magistrate Gyanendra Singh. "The schools will remain closed until the tigress is captured," officials confirmed, as cited by TOI.

Forest teams have deployed cages, live bait and patrols, but the tigress- believed to be moving stealthily through interconnected sugarcane and paddy fields - has outmanoeuvred them. Senior officials, including Project Tiger’s Lalit Verma and Bareilly Zone’s PP Singh, are overseeing operations.

After the third attack, authorities began discussions with the state’s chief wildlife warden to permit shooting the animal. District magistrate Gyanendra Singh was cited by TOI as saying that Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) field director Ramesh Chandra is reviewing the tigress’s case history before a decision is made.

The tigress was last spotted in Dandia village, 2 km from the latest attack site - all three deaths occurred within a 5km radius near PTR’s Mala range. PTR DFO Manish Singh said pugmarks indicated the animal crossed the Khakra river to reach Dandia, but efforts to use elephants for combing were scrapped after farmers protested potential crop damage.

“We’ve switched to modified tractors,” Singh said, adding that farmers’ opposition stems from the lack of state compensation for crop losses caused by elephants. “We’ve raised the issue with senior officials and hope for a policy change,” he was cited by TOI. Eight e-rickshaws are now circulating advisories in affected villages, urging caution.