Tigress hunt: Avni (T1) illegally shot by shooter Nawab's son

Tigress T1, recently captured on a camera trap

The Tigress T1 also known as Avni from Pandharkawda who was allegedly responsible for killing 13 people in Yavatmal district near Nagpur was shot dead on Friday night.

Confirming the news a forest department official said, "On November 2 at around 10.45-11 pm the tigress T1 was shot dead by forest tracking team at Borati Nalla, near compt 149 after tranqulisation attempt failed and she charged at tracking team."

In the evening at around 6.45 pm, the tigress was sighted by villagers who were passing by the Borati-Warud-Ralegaon road. Many villagers alerted the forest department staff. Since November 2 was Bazaar Day for Ralegaon, the traffic was more than usual on that road. The villagers then alerted the forest department and a patrolling team was stationed there.

According to the officials, the shooting team comprised three forest staff members and Asghar, the shooter and the vehicle driver. The team sighted the elusive tigress several times for a fraction of seconds. When the team ascertained the identity of the tigress, Asgar attempted to shoot a dart to hit it but missed. The tigress then moved back and charged at the team which was in an open gypsy. As an act of self-defense, Asgar shot at the tigress, informed the team.

While officials have been claiming that it was shot dead as the efforts to tranquilise failed, sources told mid-day that there was not veterinarian present at the time of the shooting.

A wildlife lover based in Nagpur alleged, "The tigress T1 was shot dead by the son of Nawab Shafat Ali Khan, Asgar which is illegal because the permissions were in the name of Nawab and not Asgar. We have been told that the forest department is covering-up the shooting asserting that the tigress was shot because it charged at the team, but these are fake stories."

Also Read: Exclusive! Hunter Nawab Shafat Ali Khan: Humans And Big Cats Can't Co-Exist

Late in the night, a panchanama was conducted and the body was sent to Gorewada zoo in Nagpur for conducting the postmortem. The search for the two cubs of the tigress is in progress.

Also Read: Forest Department Gets An Image Of Elusive T1 Tigress

The sarpanch of the neighbouring Wedshi village, Ankush Muneshwar said, "The forest department were given inputs by villagers about the tigress who was spotted near the village. She was then shot dead late in the night."

Read full coverage of T1 tigress here

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates