BAHRAICH, April 8 -- A routine walk turned into a terrifying ordeal for 10-year-old Raja Babu, who was critically injured in a big cat attack in Tadpurwa hamlet under the Rajpur Katarnia Gram Panchayat in the Motipur forest range of the Sanctuary on Tuesday morning. He had stepped out near a drain at edge of forest, close to his home. Raja Babu suffered severe injuries to his head and face and was rushed to District Hospital in Bahraich, where he is currently undergoing treatment. According to village head Ranjana Vishwakarma, several villagers were fishing in a nearby pond when they heard the child's screams. They immediately rushed to the spot and began shouting loudly, which forced the animal to release the boy and retreat into the forest. Forest officials are investigating exact identity of the animal. Divisional forest officer Apurva Dixit stated that detailed inspection of the site is being carried out to determine whether the attacker was a tiger or a leopard. Motipur range officer Surendra Kumar Tiwari noted that since the incident occurred at the edge of the forest, a leopard is more likely to be responsible, although local villagers firmly believe it was a tiger. He added that forest department has provided immediate financial assistance of Rs.10,000 to the family. On Monday morning, panic gripped Gondapurwa hamlet (under Khadiya Gram Panchayat in the Motipur range) when a group of schoolchildren, including Anshika, Rishika and Riya, spotted a tiger sitting at edge of the forest on their way to school. Terrified, they ran back home, sparking widespread fear among students and parents alike. Chandra Bhushan Gupta, headmaster of Khadiya Primary School, said, "No such incident had occurred before, but today's fear has badly affected attendance," he said. Om Hari Gupta, Headmaster of Khadiya Upper Primary School, also verified the tiger sighting. htc...