A fisherman from the Maipith coastal area of Kultali, South 24 Parganas, was killed in a tiger attack in the deep forests of the Sundarbans, marking yet another tragic incident in the Bay of Bengal’s mangrove region. The deceased has been identified as Tapas Haldar, a resident of Nagenabad. His mutilated body has been recovered on Saturday morning, a day after the attack, by forest department officials and police.
A few days ago, another fisherman was killed by a tiger in the same delta region of Bengal.
The incident occurred in the Sindurkati forest, adjacent to the Bonnie Camp— an area known for frequent human-tiger conflicts. According to sources, Tapas had ventured into the forest on Tuesday along with fellow fishermen Gopal Paik and Nepal Paik to catch fish and crabs, after securing valid permission from the forest department.
On Friday afternoon, the trio had anchored their boat on the riverbank when a tiger suddenly emerged from the forest. “The big cat pounced on Tapas and began dragging him into the forests,” recounted Gopal.
Hearing his screams, Gopal and Nepal rushed from the boat and attempted to pull Tapas away from the tiger. Despite their desperate efforts, they were unable to rescue him. The tiger disappeared into the dense mangroves with Tapas in its grip. The two men immediately returned to their village and informed the police and forest officials.
“A search operation was launched, and after combing the forest, we recovered the body. It was sent for post-mortem examination,” said a forest department official.
Eyewitness Nepal recounted the harrowing moment: "On Tuesday, we went to the Sundarbans with a valid pass to catch crabs. On Friday afternoon, the tiger attacked Tapas while he was sitting in the boat. We tried a lot, but the tiger dragged him into the forest."
Tapas’s wife, Parvati Haldar, was inconsolable. "My husband went to catch fish in the forest. The tiger dragged him away. Everything is over for me," she said.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Nisha Goswami explained that tiger aggression tends to increase during the winter months. "Fishermen go near the Sundarbans creeks with proper permission. But since winter is the mating season, tigers become more ferocious. A few days ago, another fisherman, Shambhu Sardar, died in a tiger attack," she said.
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