Patna, July 24 : A tiger has killed a farmer in a national park in Bihar, the police said Thursday. It was the third such incident in the park since May.
Dhanraj Mahto, of Kamarchhinari village had entered the Valmiki National Park in west Champaran district in search of his missing cows when the tiger attacked him, said a police officer.
The national park, which is Bihar's only tiger project, is over 250 km from the state capital here.
The incident has created panic among the villagers who move about freely in the forest despite warnings by forest officials.
A paramilitary Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) trooper, Pramod K. Singh, was killed by a tiger in the park July 7 while a woman fell prey in May.
The tiger population in the Valmiki National Park has been decreasing at an alarming rate, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
According to the report, there were 56 tigers in the park in 2002 but the number came down to 33 by 2005.
(IANS)
