Bahraich, Jun 23 (IANS): A 57-year-old farmer was killed by a tiger in a forest in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district, officials said on Thursday.

According to them, the incident took place on Wednesday evening near Bhartapur village in the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary.

The victim, Ghanshyam Rajbhar was cutting grass when the tiger attacked him.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Akashdeep Badhawan said that villagers working nearby raised an alarm after which the tiger vanished into the forest.

The victim was taken to the Community Health Centre where he succumbed to injuries.

The DFO said there is a provision of a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh in cases of death due to human-wildlife conflict.

However, cutting grass in the restricted core area of the forest is prima facie a cognisable offence, he added.

In this case, a decision on the compensation will be taken as per the rules of the forest department, he said.

Meanwhile, teams of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have been set up and two trained elephants are engaged in combing the area.