LUCKNOW: A tigress was cordoned off by villagers and brutally beaten to death in Pilibhit district on early Thursday morning.
The tigress bore the brunt of the villagers of Mataina village as it, while being on the prowl, had injured nine people on Wednesday afternoon.
The killing of the feline came as a shock to the officials of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve who had assured the villagers that the tigress would be driven back to her habitat soon.
The autopsy of the dead tigress confirmed that the cause of death were the injuries inflicted upon her by the villagers.
According to the district magistrate of Pilibhit, Vaibhav Shrivastav, an FIR was lodged in the incident at Puranpur Kotwali.
Some of the attackers were identified, while officials were trying to ascertain the identity of others involved in the incident.
Meanwhile, a magisterial inquiry into the episode and also the role of forest officials was ordered.
As per the autopsy report details, the age of the tigress was 5 to 6 years old.
The animal had sustained fractures and injuries in every part of the body including the broken ribs in the attack by the villagers.
The carcass of the tigress was cremated after the autopsy, said the forest officials.
As per the sources, the villagers assaulted the big cat in the presence of some of the forest officials who failed to stop them.