Tiger snatches man off boat, leaps back into Sunderbans jungle

June 27, 2014

Kolkata, Jun 27: The danger of venturing into the prohibited areas of Sunderbans was revealed again on Thursday morning when a tiger jumped from the bank of a creek and leapt back with a man in its jaws. This is the fourth time that a human was killed by a tiger in the Sunderbans this year.

Sunderbans jungleThe victim, 62-year-old Sushil Majhi, lived in Lahiripur near Datta river, less than kilometre from a creek that runs deep into the forest. Along with his son Jyotish, 40, and adopted daughter Molina, Majhi would often row up the creek to catch crabs.

On Thursday, at the crack of dawn, the three set out on a boat to the forests of Kholakhali, an area where fishing is banned.

Jyotish sat in front of the boat, Sushil in the middle and Molina at the tai. That is how they balanced the vessel while pulling in the net.

"Shortly after we reached the spot, around 7am, we got a whiff of a strange odour. We immediately decided to turn back to a safer zone," Jyotish told TOI. They were paddling towards a less dense area when a tiger that had been stalking them struck like lightning.

"Suddenly, my sister cried out: 'Dada, bagh (tiger)'. I was stunned, and my body froze. All I saw a flash of yellow. It took me a moment to register the gruesome sight before me. My father was completely buried under the beast. I could only see his legs thrashing about. I shook off my numbness and grabbed a stick. Molina, too, took out a long cutter we use to clear foliage in the jungle. Together, we poked and battered the tiger, but it refused to give up," he said.

Despite being attacked, the tiger concentrated on its kill and once it got a good grip, it held Majhi by his neck and jerked the body in a way that it landed on its back, said Jyotish. "It jumped off and landed on the bank in one giant leap. We saw it disappear into the jungle with my father still in its jaws," he added, shaking from the ordeal.

Jyotish and Molina raised the alarm and some fishermen paddled furiously in their direction.

"But they didn't dare chase the tiger into the deep woods. Molina was so traumatized that she lost consciousness. I didn't take any further risk and returned with her as quickly as possible," said Jyotish.

Majhi's body is unlikely to be recovered, as countless other human victims before him.

Sunderbans Tiger Reserve field director Soumitra Dasgupta said there were reports of a tiger attacking a fisherman on Thursday morning.

"Fishing is banned in the forests where the incident took place," he said.

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News Network
June 17,2020

Moradabad, Jun 17: Two children died after they accidentally got locked inside a car while playing in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad, the police said.

Four children, aged between 4 and 7 years, locked themselves inside the car while playing and were found unconscious soon after, the police added.

"All four children were found unconscious in a car and they were taken to the hospital. Two of them died and the other two are undergoing treatment at the hospital," said Amit Kumar Anand, superintendent of police (city) Moradabad.

The children were related to each other, the police said.

The man who owns the car said the children had locked themselves inside. "When we reached, the children were in an unconscious state. Two of the four children died. The incident occurred around 8 am."

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News Network
July 9,2020

Etawah, Jul 9: Another aide of the Kanpur encounter accused Vikas Dubey, Bahua Dubey, died in an encounter with the police, here on Thursday.

"Today at around 4.30 AM, in an encounter with the Etawah Police, one person has died. from him, a rifle and a pistol too has been recovered. When we shared the information with the Kanpur Police, they identified him as Bahua Dubey," said SSP Etawah Akash Tomar.

"He was involved in the Kanpur encounter alongside Vikas Dubey and there was a bounty of Rs 50,000 on him," he added.

"Around 3 AM on the highway near Mahewa Police Station Bakewar, a Swift Dzire car was looted by four armed assailants on a Scorpio. Around 4:30 AM, they were intercepted at Kachaura road under Police Station Civil lines by the police. When police parties chased them, the car collided with a tree, and criminals started firing at the police," he further said.

Dubey sustained injuries during the encounter and was pronounced dead when taken to the hospital. However, the other three managed to escape. One pistol, a double-barrel gun, and several cartridges have been recovered, he informed further.

Earlier today, Prabhat Mishra, also an aide of the main accused, died after being shot at by the police.

Mishra had sustained an injury on the leg after being shot at by the police and was rushed to a hospital before being pronounced dead.

Vikas Dubey is the main accused in the encounter that took place in Kanpur last week, in which a group of assailants allegedly opened fire on a police team, which had gone to arrest him. Eight police personnel were killed in the encounter.

A search operation is currently underway to nab Dubey.

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Agencies
June 12,2020

The West Bengal government has suspended two women teachers in East Burdwan district on the charge of teaching pre-primary students from an English alphabet book consisting of a portion derogatory to the people with a dark complexion.

While presenting the alphabets with corresponding words and images, the book says U is for "Ugly". The illustration printed beside the letter is that of a boy with a dark complexion.

"The book is not part of the textbooks referred by the education department. It was introduced by the school itself. We have zero-tolerance for acts which instil prejudices into the minds of students," Education Minister Partha Chatterjee told reporters here on Thursday.

He said the two teachers of a local municipality-run school have been placed under suspension with immediate effect based on a preliminary investigation and stricter action would be taken against them later.

Though the school is now closed because of the lockdown, the matter came to light when the father of a student of the school was teaching him with the help of that book. He informed other parents and the education department was apprised of the issue, sources said.

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