In a disturbing case of wildlife violence, three individuals have been arrested for their involvement in the brutal mob killing of a tiger in Dusutimukh village, located in Assam’s Golaghat district. The tiger, which had strayed into a residential area on Thursday morning, was chased and killed with sharp weapons by a mob of over 1,000 villagers.
According to Golaghat Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Gunadip Das, the attackers mutilated the tiger’s body, taking its legs, tail, ears, and teeth as trophies. He confirmed that Panika Doley (18) was the first to be arrested on Thursday. Subsequently, Trinayan Mili (25) and Dhruba Mili (22) were detained at around 1 AM on Friday. Interrogations are ongoing, and more arrests are expected as the investigation continues.
Locals claimed the tiger had previously attacked and killed both livestock and a person in a neighboring village, though the Assam Forest Department has not officially confirmed this. The tiger’s origin—possibly Kaziranga National Park, 25 km away—is still being verified.
Villagers reportedly alerted authorities as early as 6 AM, but forest personnel only arrived hours later, by which time the tiger had already been killed. The incident occurred between 8 and 9 AM.
Forest officials and police have registered a case and recovered several bamboo spears used in the attack. Post-mortem reports confirmed the tiger died from injuries caused by sharp weapons.
Following the arrests, many villagers fled Dusutimukh, fearing further police action.
