A tiger was killed after being hit by a speeding train on Friday night between the Budhni and Midghat sections of Madhya Pradesh. 

The carcass of the animal was spotted near the track by railway staffers, who later alerted police and forest officials, Additional Superintendent of Police A P Singh said. 

According to a report by the New Indian Express, another tiger was found dead near the same spot on February 23. 

Wrongly put chain fencing around the Midghat railway track is being blamed for the frequent accidental tiger deaths in the region, the report said.

However, the state government is blaming the railways for it. 

Madhya Pradesh forest officials will now take legal action against the loco pilot and other railway authorities responsible for the death of wild animals due to trains.

Officials say that the railway department had been ignoring repeated requests to slow trains while passing through national parks and core areas.

Here is what the chief minister tweeted:

“It’s high time. Railway authorities need to be booked for their conduct. Necessary action is being taken,” a forest officer told The Times of India

A study by wildlife group CLAW (Conservation Lenses and Wildlife) stated that out of the total tiger deaths in 2016,  nearly one-third took place in Madhya Pradesh. 

There were 102 tiger deaths in the country in 2016 out of which 33 were in Madhya Pradesh, reports Hindustan Times.

(Feature image source: WikiCommons)

(With inputs from PTI)