Farmers among seven held for electrocution of two tigers in MP's Shahdol

Bhopal: Authorities arrested seven men, including two farmers, on Tuesday in connection with the electrocution of a tiger and a tigress in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol district, a forest official said.

The carcasses of the two felines were spotted on Monday, he said.

"The accused had allegedly laid electric traps to catch herbivores, mainly wild boars. However, a tiger, aged around six years, and a tigress of around seven years, walked into the traps laid in agricultural fields, and died," Shahdol North Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Taruna Verma told PTI over the phone.

The post-mortem examination of the two big cats confirmed electrocution as the cause of the death, she said.

The autopsy report suggested that the two big cats had died around 48 to 72 hours before their carcasses were recovered on Monday, according to her.

The carcasses of both the animals were intact, she said, ruling out the possibility of poaching for body parts.

Asked about reports that the tigress had cubs that could be at risk following her death, Verma said pugmarks of a sub-adult tiger were found near the spot.

"The pugmarks appear to be three to four days old," she said, adding that forest teams are searching the surrounding area to trace the sub-adult animal.

Verma said the seven accused, including two farmers on whose land the traps were laid, were produced before a competent court, which sent them to judicial remand for 15 days.

The sniffer dogs traced the five accused at their houses, she added.

The accused - Sarman Yadav (38), Moranlal Yadav (43), Rajesh Yadav (49), Rambhagat Yadav (37), Matadeen Yadav (27), Jamuna Singh Gond (66) and Ramcharan Singh Gond (59) - have been booked under provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

Since the tiger is listed under Schedule I of the Act, the offence carries a punishment of up to seven years' imprisonment, she said.

"Our area lies between Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and Sanjay Tiger Reserve, making it difficult to ascertain from where the two tigers came," Verma added.

With these deaths, the toll of big cats in the state this year has risen to nine, an official said.

The two carcasses were found less than 100 metres apart in agricultural land under the North Shahdol forest division, about 75 kilometres from the district headquarters, officials said.

The incident comes days after the Madhya Pradesh High Court on January 20 issued notices to the Centre and the state government on a petition filed by wildlife activist Ajay Dubey.

In his petition, Dubey claimed that 54 tigers died in the state in 2025, the highest annual mortality since the launch of Project Tiger, with more than half of the deaths attributed to unnatural causes.

Dubey told PTI that the High Court is scheduled to hear the matter again on February 11. He also said he has written to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the state chief secretary alleging administrative negligence in the Shahdol incident.