A fisherman from the Maipith coastal area was killed in a tiger attack in the deep forests of the Sundarbans, adding to a growing list of tragic incidents in the Bengal delta. The deceased, Tapas Haldar, a resident of Nagenabad, was found dead on Saturday morning—his mutilated body recovered by forest officials and police a day after the attack.

A similar tiger-related death had been reported in the region just a few days earlier. The incident took place in the Sindurkati forest, near the Bonnie Camp—an area notorious for frequent human–tiger encounters. Tapas had ventured into the forest on Tuesday with fellow fishermen Gopal Paik and Nepal Paik to catch fish and crabs, after obtaining proper forest department permits.

On Friday afternoon, while their boat was anchored on the riverbank, a tiger suddenly emerged from the mangroves. The big cat pounced on Tapas and began dragging him into the forests.

Failed rescue attempt

Hearing Tapas’s screams, Gopal and Nepal rushed to help, attempting to pull him away from the tiger’s grip. Despite their desperate efforts, they were unable to save him.

The tiger vanished into the dense mangrove forest with Tapas.

The two men returned to their village and alerted the police and forest department.
A forest department official said, “A search operation was launched, and after combing the forest, we recovered the body. It was sent for post-mortem examination.”

Eyewitness Nepal added, “We tried a lot, but the tiger dragged him into the forest.”
Tapas’s wife, Parvati Haldar, broke down while speaking about the incident.”My husband went to catch fish in the forest. The tiger dragged him away. Everything is over for me,” she said.

Winter drives tiger aggression

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Nisha Goswami stated that tiger aggression tends to rise during the winter season. “Fishermen go near the Sundarbans creeks with proper permission. But since winter is the mating season, tigers become more ferocious,” she explained.

She also confirmed that another fisherman, Shambhu Sardar, had died in a tiger attack just days earlier—underscoring the increasing risks faced by those who depend on the Sundarbans for their livelihood.

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