A crab hunter was mauled to death by a royal Bengal tiger in the Sunderbans on Monday morning. Jahangir Baulia, 31, from Kalitala village near Hemnagar was killed in the Jhila (zone 6) forest. The victim, along with Manoranjan Mondal and Shatrughna Mondal, had gone to the forest to trap crabs on Sunday afternoon.
The lure of earning good money by selling crab that is often sold between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,500 has claimed many lives in an area where cyclones Amphan and Yaas ruined economy and livelihood. The two companions claimed that Jahangir was alone trapping crap in a creek during a low tide when the tiger attacked him from behind killing him on the spot. Police and forest department officers said Jahangir’s head and neck suffered serious injuries, which led to his death.
An official of the Basirhat forest range said: “It is unfortunate that crab hunters have been inviting troubles repeatedly by entering tigers’ domains despite our warning.” Breaking down in tears, Manoranjan Mondal said: “During the early hours today, we began trapping crabs separately in three different locations.
There was low tide in the river. So, we all left the boat and began tracing crabs close to the bank. I was a little away from him when I heard the roar of a tiger followed by Jahangir’s cry for help. I rushed to the spot with a bamboo pole in hand and found Jahangir lying unconscious. He died within a few minutes in front of me as I watched helplessly.”
Later, Manorajna and his fellow crab hunter Shatrughna informed Hemnagar coastal police and also the officials of Basirhat Forest range about the attack, who rushed to the spot to recover the body. The repeated incidents of attacks on the crab hunters and fishermen in the Sundarbans mangrove area, particularly inside the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, have become a matter of concern to the forest officials, who have appealed to the villagers not to risk their lives by infiltrating inside the domain of the tigers. A crab hunter from Hemnagar said: “We have no option but to survive on fishing or by hunting crabs. Fishing does not help to earn good money since the excessive salinity has withered fish. Prawns are available in some creeks and canals, but hunting crab helps fascinate us since it helps to get a good amount of money”