WAYANAD: Locals continue to protest the delay in capturing the man-eater tiger on the prowl in Pancharakolly Wayanad. The locals said they would not allow the officials to leave the estate unless the tiger got killed. The locals are currently protesting in front of the base camp.

Meanwhile, the hartal announced by UDF is continuing in the area. SDPI has also declared a hartal here. The forest department has confirmed that the tiger is still lurking in some parts of Pancharakolly. A photo of the tiger has been captured in the camera trap and new footprints have been found. It is reported that the team led by Dr Arun Zakaria will reach Wayanad in the afternoon in an attempt to shoot a tranquillizer dart at the beast.

At the same time, the body of tribal housewife Radha (45), killed by a man-eating tiger in Pancharakolly, was cremated on Saturday. Minister OR Kelu and others participated in the final rites ceremony. Many locals came in droves to pay their last respects to Radha. The body which was kept at Mnaanthavady government hospital was handed over to her relatives on Saturday morning.

Radha, wife of Achappan, a temporary Watcher of the Forest Department in Pancharakolly, was mauled to death by a man-eater tiger the other day. Her head was found severed in the brutal attack. The body was also half-eaten by the beast. On the day of the incident, Radha went to pick up coffee leaves from a plantation nearby. Her husband Achappan dropped her off by 8 am on his scooter. At 11.15 am, the Thunder Bolt team searching for Maoists in the forest area, found her body 150 meters away from the boundary of the plantation.