Man killed in suspected tiger attack in Nilgiris; residents block road

A 51-year-old man was killed in a suspected tiger attack at O Valley Forest in the Gudalur Division of the Nilgiris district on Friday. The deceased was identified as K Ravikumar of Lauriston in the O Valley Forest Range. He worked as a labourer in a coffee estate at 4-Division, Lauriston. According to local reports, a tiger emerged from coffee bushes and attacked him while he was working in the plantation near his residence. His body was found around 2 pm about 200 metres from his home. The tiger had mauled and partially consumed his hand, right shoulder and chest. The incident triggered immediate anger among O Valley residents, who staged a road blockade at Lauriston demanding that the forest department capture the tiger. This is reported to be the second such death in O Valley this month.