A tigress killed four women in a single attack in the Gunjewahi forest area of Sindewahi taluka in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district on Friday morning. A group of 13 women had ventured into the forest to collect tendu leaves when the tragedy occurred.
The incident adds yet another grim chapter to the district's worsening record of human-tiger conflict.
According to Nagpur Today, the women were collecting tendu leaves when the tigress, believed to be hiding nearby, suddenly attacked the group. The scale of the assault, involving multiple fatalities in a single attack, has sent shockwaves through the region.
Sindewahi Forest Range officer Anjali Sayankar reached the spot following the incident. Forest officials, staff members and police teams have launched an investigation, the report added.
The four deceased have been identified as:
1. Kavdubai Dadaji Mohurle, 45
2. Anubai Dadaji Mohurle, 46
3. Sangeeta Santosh Chaudhary, 36
4. Sunita Kaushik Mohurle, 33
Chandrapur, home to the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), one of India's most tiger-dense protected areas, has been grappling with human-wildlife conflict for years.
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The tendu leaf collection season, which runs through the summer months, brings thousands of villagers into forested zones every year. Tendu leaves, used in bidi manufacturing, are a critical source of seasonal income for communities in this region, and many continue to enter forests despite repeated warnings from authorities.
Locals and families of victims have repeatedly demanded that forest authorities erect protective fencing around villages bordering tiger habitats, provide timely forest entry warnings, and ensure faster compensation disbursement.
Following Friday's attack, there is renewed pressure on the Maharashtra forest department and TATR management to act — not just in response to individual tragedies, but to structurally address the collision between an expanding tiger population and the survival needs of communities living at its edge.
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