Maharashtra: Man-eater tigress Avni shot dead

Mumbai: Tigress Avni, who has allegedly taken lives of more than a dozen of people was shot dead on Saturday in Yavatmal district of the state.

According to Police official, "Avni was shot dead by sharp-shooter Asgar Ali, son of famous sharp-shooter Nawab Shafat Ali, at compartment no 149 of Borati forest under the jurisdiction of the Ralegaon police station."

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Avni, identified as T1, who was known in Pandharkawada forest area, had killed 13 people over the last two years in the region.

A fertile and healthy tigress, she was protecting her two 10-month old dependent cubs in the vicinity of the Tipeshwar Tiger Sanctuary.

Avni's carcass has been shifted to Nagpur for an autopsy but her cubs were missing.

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Wildlife activist and medico Jerryl A. Banait, who had filed a public interest litigation jointly with NGO Earth Brigade Foundation (EBF), said that the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)'s rules have been grossly violated in the killing of Avni.

Banait stated, "Such an operation can be carried out only between sunrise and sunset, there was no vets present during the killing early today or the police, as per the NTCA's guidelines. In the night, its almost impossible to even identify the gender of any tiger, let alone a specific target like Avni."

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