CHENNAI: A missing woman who was found dead on Thursday in the Nilgiris is suspected to have been killed by a carnivore.
According to the forest department officers, Anjalai, 50, wife of Gopal from Bomman Nagar near Ooty, had gone to pluck tea leaves in an estate in Kalibata on Wednesday. When she did not return till late night, family members and relatives launched a search but couldn’t find her.
On Thursday morning, some workers spotted the body of a woman in the tea estate, and parts of her body were found to be consumed by a carnivore.
A team of forest department staff soon arrived at the spot and identified the woman as Anjalai. Her body was sent for a postmortem at the Ooty Government Hospital.
“An inquiry is under way to ascertain whether it was a leopard or tiger that killed the woman. Cameras have been installed to monitor the animal. Also, estate workers have been advised to abstain from plucking tea leaves for a few more days to avoid further untoward incidents,” said an official.
Meanwhile, estate workers said they were disturbed by the frequent man-animal conflicts in the region and live in constant fear.
In January last year, a male leopard, which was suspected to have killed a three-year-old girl and a 29-year-old tribal woman in Pandalur, was captured and shifted to Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur near Chennai.