We are assisting in live capture, not in killing man eater: WTI

NEW DELHI: The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) has said it has not authorised killing of a tiger following the beast's rampage in Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh for the last three months during which four lives were lost.

A spokesperson of the Trust said a team of WTI is assisting the UP forest department in the live capture of the tiger which was recently declared a man eater.

"The Wildlife Trust of India is by no means entitled or inclined to authorise a green signal for shooting or killing the tiger," the spokesperson said.

The WTI's response came as Faizabad District Forest Officer (DFO) O P Singh on Tuesday said the department has constituted special squads for killing the man eater.

Singh had claimed that the department had got green signal from the National Tiger Conservation Authority and WTI to shoot the tiger.

In the last three months of its prowling from Pilibhit to Faizabad via Barabanki, Singh had said the tiger has killed four persons eating up the middle portion of their bodies.

Its fourth prey, Sarju (50), a resident of Surajpur village near Rampur Janak forest reserve in Rudauli tehsil of the district was attacked by the animal in the midnight of January 10/11, he had said.