Search is on for tiger that killed man in Malappuram Forest department

    Malappuram(Kerala), May 17 (PTI) Search for the tiger, which killed a rubber-tapping worker near Kalikavu here two days ago, continued on Saturday even as the feline's presence was not found in the area, the forest department said.
    Amidst the ongoing search operations and a meeting of all stakeholders called by the forest department, the state government issued an order transferring Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Nilambur South, Dhanik Lal, to Thiruvananthapuram as the Assistant Conservator of Forests.
    The person holding that post was transferred as the DFO of Nilambur South, the order said.
    According to the government order, the decision was taken in view of the pending sanction for the prosecution of Lal in connection with a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act in a court at Muvattupuzha.
    Congress MLA A P Anilkumar raised concerns over the sudden transfer, saying that it should not adversely affect the ongoing search operations for the tiger.
    "The government has the power to decide whom to transfer, but it should not result in the search operations being left leaderless," he said.
    The MLA contended that the government cannot save face through this order for the lapse on its part in preventing the incident from happening.
    Lal, earlier in the day, said that the more than 50 camera traps and the thermal drone cameras deployed to search for the tiger have not found any sign of it in the area.
    "However, the search operations will continue. We are using Google maps and geo-tagging the possible locations of the tiger's presence to set up the cameras to ensure maximum coverage of the area," he told a TV channel.
    He further said that the thermal drone cameras covered a larger area a day ago, and now the adjoining places would be surveyed by them.
    The DFO also said that there is thick undergrowth in some patches, which could serve as 'hideouts' for the tiger.
    "To eliminate such hideouts, we will discuss it with the farmers' groups in the area and the panchayat, as everyone's help would be required to clear the thick undergrowth," he said.
    He further said that the forest department will continue with the search operations till the tiger is found and captured.
    Besides cameras and drones, the department has also deployed kumki elephants (trained captive tuskers) and three teams of 20 forest personnel, armed with tranquilisers and including veterinarians, to look for the tiger since Friday.
    On Thursday, 45-year-old Gafoor was attacked and dragged into the forest by the tiger when he and a friend were going for rubber-tapping work.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)