Shoot-at-sight against killer panther

After three people were mauled to death by a panther near the Sariska forest area in Rajasthan, the forest department issued a shoot-at-sight order against the animal on Monday.

Forest officials dispatched four shooters to the area and three teams are in the field to trap the panther. The Alwar police have also deployed over 100 armed constables to avert any untoward incident.

Alwar Collector Muktanand Agrawal told DH, “The district administration is in coordination with the forest department. We have cautioned the people living in the peripheral areas of Sarisksa to not venture into the forest. Villagers living  around the Sariska Tiger Reserve are scared after the deaths caused in panther attacks.”

A senior forest official told DH that commandoes with sniffer dogs have been deployed in the field. “It is a shy animal that does not come out unless it is hurt. We are using every possible technique to catch it,” he said.