A 45-year-old tribal woman was killed by a tiger at a village in Kerala’s Wayanad district on Friday, sparking protests by locals and prompting the chief wildlife warden to issue an order to capture or shoot the animal.

The deceased, identified as Radha, was mauled by the tiger while she was plucking coffee beans at Priyadarshini Estate in Mananthavady.

The partially eaten body was found by members of Thunderbolt, an elite commando force of Kerala police, near the estate during a regular inspection.

Kerala minister for SC/ST and backward classes, O.R. Kelu, rushed to the spot and was confronted by locals. The protesters did not allow the police to remove the body and demanded the immediate capture of the tiger.

The protesters also demanded ex gratia of ₹10 lakh and a government job for a family member of Radha, which prompted the authorities to sanction an immediate assistance of ₹5 lakh.

Minnu Mani, a member of the Indian women’s cricket team and the deceased’s niece, demanded in a Facebook post that the tiger becaptured immediately to protect the lives of the people in the area.

Chief wildlife warden Pramod G. Krishnan issued orders to capture the tiger and shoot it if required.

Kerala forest minister A.K. Saseendran told The Telegraph that a massive operation by the rapid response team of the forest department, expert shooters and veterinarians was underway in Wayanad to track the tiger.

“The operation to track the tiger will continue during the night as well. The team will be using drones if required. Forest department officials have placed cages at vantage points. If the tiger doesn’t enter the cage, it will be tranquillised after scouting the area. If that too doesn’t turn out to be fruitful, then the team will shoot the tiger. We are doing everything to capture the maneater,” Saseendran said.

Dr P.O. Nameer, head of the wildlife department at Kerala Agricultural University, told this newspaper that once a tiger is identified as a maneater, it has to be shot dead if the mission to capture it fails.

Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra condoled Radha’s death on X. “There is an immediate need forsustainable solutions to address this pressing issueof wildlife encroachment,” she wrote.

Leader of the Opposition in Kerala, V.D. Satheesan, is scheduled to take out a 10-day protest yatra from Saturday through the hilly regions of the state urging the government to take steps to address critical issues facing farmers and residents following a spurt in man-animal conflicts in the region.

Satheesan on Friday said over 1,000 people had died in man-animal conflicts in Kerala in the last eight years.