Forest officials arrested three villagers for chopping and destroying the carcass of a tiger killed by electrocution after coming into contact with an electrified fence at a farm in Zanjeriya forest in Maharashtra’s Bhandara.
Pirtaram Warkhede (55), Durgesh Lasunte (55), and Rajendra Kunjam (50) were held and remanded in forest custody. Warkhede found the carcass on his farm and called the others for help. Unable to move the body, they used an axe to dismember it into pieces, which they dumped.
The tools used were recovered, but the wire and bicycles used for transportation are still missing. Investigations revealed burn marks, indicating an attempt to destroy the body by fire. Officials are questioning another farmer, whose land borders Warkhede’s.
