‘Fortunate!’ I was saved by my helmet when it bit my head, lone survivor in Tiger attack narrates

BAREILLY: It all happened very quickly. The dim and slanting beam of their motorcycle’s headlight had suddenly fallen on two tigers lazing around a road that cut through the jungles of Pilibhit. It was dark, the rider panicked and the three men fell right next to the big cats. The animals sprung, their huge paws outstretched. Vikas Kumar’s two friends were killed within minutes. He survived though. One of the tigers had grabbed him by the head. But he was wearing a helmet.

Vikas, 23, lived to tell the tale. As the tiger recoiled in surprise having bitten into the rock hard surface of his helmet, he took the opportunity to clamber up a nearby tree. He stayed there, behind the branches, the whole night as the tigers, having killed both his friends and eaten one of them, growled below. Shivering in dread, Vikas saw the tigers tear apart Sonu Kumar (22). Kandhai Lal (35) was dragged back into the deep forests of the reserve. The next day villagers found one half of his body.

Recounting the events of the terrifying Sunday night (July 11), Vikas said, “We were warned about the tigers’ presence at the entrance of the forest, but decided to take the route anyway as we were in a hurry to reach home. Sonu was riding the motorcycle while Kandhai and I were pillion. Due to the bad headlight, we could not see the two tigers. We came too close and they charged at us. One of the tigers pounced on me but I was saved by my helmet. Sonu and Kandhai couldn’t make it.”

Vikas said Kandhai also tried to climb a tree but was pulled down by the beasts. “I could hear his screams for a few seconds and then it stopped. Sonu was killed in front of me. I was extremely scared but gathered courage to jump onto another tree later. I didn’t move one bit, closed my eyes and started praying. I knew that if the tigers found my location they would kill me for sure. They are known to climb trees.”

Help came for Vikas the next morning when a few villagers passed by and he hollered at them. “The tigers continued to roam below, searching for me. I heard their roar all night. They went into the forest early morning, around 3.30am. At sunrise, I got a new lease of life with some of my fellow villagers helping me down. I will never be able to forget this,” Vikas said.

Rajendra Prasad, one of those who reached the spot, said, “We informed the police and forest department after we saw the man, frozen with fear almost and barely able to speak. A bike was lying nearby and next to it was a body. There were claw marks on the tree.”

Deputy director of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve Naveen Khandelwal told TOI, “We found pugmarks of two tigers at the spot. One of the tigers seems to be a sub-adult. There is a possibility that an adult tigress was playing with a sub-adult male as she was sighted by our staff. But we will be in a better position to confirm once we have the images of the tigers. As of now, we have increased camera traps to 26 and teams will monitor the area during evening hours as well.”

Back from a hospital and now at his modest house in Deuria, Pilibhit, Vikas said, “The tigers will always live in my head. I will hear them growl for the rest of my years on this earth.”