A tiger attacked three people while being chased by a crowd in the western Indian state of Maharashtra on Saturday.

According to local reports, the crowd gathered at the scene after sighting the big cat Saturday afternoon. Forest and police officers arrived at the scene but were unable to control the crowd that was scaring the animal away.

Confirming the incident, a forest officer said, "We received a call that a tiger was sitting on Pumsar-Bapera highway and a large crowd had surrounded the animal. Despite asking the people not to go near the tiger, three people were injured in the incident.”

A video of the incident showed the animal crossing the road and entering a field. It then attacks the people before others chase it away by pelting stones at it. The video has since gone viral on social media. The tiger remained on the loose and the forest officials were making efforts to catch it.

Meanwhile, Sawan Bahekar, president of Gondia’s NGO Sustaining Environment and Wildlife Assemblage (SEWA), blamed the "poor mob mentality" for the incident.

“After allowing the situation to go out of hand, forest officials want to capture the innocent animal. This is unacceptable. There is no record of cattle or human kill against this tiger. The latest attacks were due to poor mob mentality,” Bahekar said. Meanwhile, the three people who were severely injured in the attack were receiving treatment at the hospital.

Gogh, a male tiger, is seen in his temporary enclosure at the zoo in Poznan, Poland, on November 6
Gogh, a male tiger, is seen in his temporary enclosure at the zoo in Poznan, Poland, on November 6 AFP / Wojtek RADWANSKI
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