It's been more than a month since the maneater has been on the prowl on the fringes of the Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand.
Fashioned like an armed gang of robbers, the horseback BSP MLA Mohommad Ghazi and his men are on a mission. To end the terror of a tigress that has killed 10 people since January.
It's been more than a month since the maneater has been on the prowl on the fringes of the Corbett National Park. The local MLA says it's his duty to hunt down the tigress and that he needs no license to kill the maneater, as it is killing the voters in his constituency.
The law maker has turned into a law breaker. The two-time MLA from the Barhapur constituency says, "Everyone knows about what this tigress is doing. We have no choice but to hunt her down. We don't want her to make her 11th kill. I may die but I will not allow this tigress to kill another person. Nobody should dare try to stop me."
However, the tiger is a protected species, and its death cannot be dictated by the whims and fancies of a local politician.
Only those authorized by the forest department are allowed to join the hunt. In fact, five hired hunters are already on the job, and forest officials are also scanning the periphery of the park. Catching the tigress alive and relocating it to a zoo is their priority.
The conservator of forests MP Singh says that what the MLA is trying to do is illegal. "Forget shooting a tiger, even entering the forest with arms is illegal and he can be prosecuted under the wild life protection act".
If the MLA kills the tiger, he will become a poacher and not the saviour of his people.