‘I HEARD THE SCREAM’

Tiger Fatally Mauls Girl, 9, and Drags Body into Forest

The victim was with her grandmother and sisters at the time of the attack.

A tiger mauled a girl to death and dragged her body into a forest in India, according to reports. Poonam Gond, nine, was in a rice paddy with her sisters and grandmother in Madhya Pradesh, central India, when the deadly attack unfolded on Wednesday. Her grandmother, Terasiya Gond, told the Hindustan Times that the incident occurred at around 2:30 p.m. “I heard the scream of Poonam,” she said. “I thought she cut her hand with a sickle, but when I turned around to see her, I saw a tiger dragging her to the field. I cried for help and the villagers, who were cutting paddy in their fields, came and tried to save the girl, but the tiger grabbed her and fled into the dense forest.” Authorities later recovered Poonam’s body from the forest. A post-mortem indicated that she died from injuries to her neck and waist.