Pilibhit, Jul 3 (IANS): A 25-year-old man was devoured by a tiger while he was asleep in a shed near Mathna Japti village on Pilibhit-Madhotanda road in Uttar Pradesh.

A local farmer, Satnam Singh, who witnessed the attack when he was passing by on a tractor, said, "After killing the man, the tiger dragged his body to the other side of the road and began to eat it. The sugarcane field, where the tiger dragged the man, was about 500 metres from the core Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR). The tiger charged at my tractor when it faced the headlights."

Following the orders of PTR divisional forest officer (DFO) Manish Singh, five camera traps have now been installed in the area and a forest team deployed closely to monitor the tiger's movement.

Robin K Singh, range officer of Mala forest range of PTR, along with personnel from the forest force, reached the spot and conducted an intensive combing operation through the dense, waterlogged sugarcane fields but body parts of the victim could not be traced.

"However, his slippers and lower garments were found in the field," the range officer said.

He added, "Search for the remains of the victim is ongoing. Local farmers have been advised to visit their fields in groups and that too only before dusk."