Mob slaughters Royal Bengal tiger in India 

A Royal Bengal tiger was brutally killed and dismembered by a mob of villagers in India's northeastern state of Assam, according to local forest officials. The attack occurred in the Golaghat district, where residents claim the animal had repeatedly preyed on livestock and posed an immediate danger to their lives.

Forest authorities have launched an investigation and registered a case under India’s Wildlife Protection Act, which strictly prohibits the hunting or harming of protected species such as tigers. Gunadeep Das, a senior forest official, told The Times of India that the tiger sustained fatal injuries from sharp weapons, not gunshots. The carcass was recovered under official supervision and has been sent for autopsy.

Das told local media that “around a thousand people had gathered” during the killing, with some individuals using machetes to attack the animal. Graphic footage of the aftermath shared by Assam lawmaker Mrinal Saikia on social media appeared to show the mutilated body of the tiger, with its face, limbs, and skin partially removed.

"This is a very painful act," Saikia posted on X. "The Earth is not only for humans, it is for animals as well." He vowed that those responsible would face consequences.AA

Forest officer Sonali Ghosh said the tiger's origin remains unclear, but it was killed roughly 20 km (12 miles) from the famed Kaziranga National Park. Assam’s tiger population has grown significantly in recent years, from 70 in 2006 to 190 in 2019, thanks to conservation efforts. However, rising incidents of human-tiger conflict have accompanied this growth, attributed to habitat loss and encroachment on wildlife corridors.

This marks the third tiger killing in Assam this year, underscoring the increasingly tense and dangerous interface between humans and endangered wildlife in the region.