The deceased, identified as Balakrishnan, a resident of O’ Valley Town Panchayat, had gone out on Saturday evening to divert spring water to his house for domestic use by constructing small earthen barriers and laying a pipeline following rains.

When Balakrishnan failed to return home, his family members and relatives searched for him in the surrounding areas. After their efforts proved unsuccessful, they alerted the police and forest department.

Forest personnel, accompanied by residents, launched a search on Sunday morning. During the operation, they found Balakrishnan’s mauled body near the boundary of a forest area. Some parts of his body had been eaten by a carnivore.

The body was recovered and taken to the Gudalur Government Hospital for post-mortem examination. The incident sparked anger among villagers, who blocked forest department and police vehicles and objected to the removal of the body. They alleged that officials had taken it away in haste without allowing residents to see it.

The protest was withdrawn around noon after Gudalur Revenue Divisional Officer S.K. Gunasekaran held talks with the villagers and assured them that appropriate action would be taken.

Meanwhile, the forest department launched an intensive operation to track the suspected tiger. A team led by Gudalur Forest Range Officer (in-charge) R Ravi conducted an aerial search using a drone. A sniffer dog was also deployed to assist the search, while camera traps were installed at strategic locations to monitor the movement of the animal.