Locals spotted a tiger near the Gomoh-Barkakana railway tracks under the Gandhinagar Police Station of Bokaro district on Saturday evening, forest officials said on Sunday, claiming that the lack of vehicular movements may have encouraged the big cat to come out of the jungle.

Forester Rameshwar Hazara said, “The tiger was sighted at 5 pm. The animal suddenly came out of the forest near Barwabera village ahead of Gandhinagar police station and walked a few metres before squatting on the railway track. Around 25 people on two-wheelers and four-wheelers got an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the big cat.”.

The animal did not harm anyone even though curious commuters got down from their vehicles for a closer look at the animal.

In a warning to travellers, the Inspector cum officer- in-Charge Bokaro Thermal PS Ravindra Kumar Singh and Mukesh Kumar Officer in-Charge of Gandhinagar police station on Sunday issued a public caution stating that a tiger has been sighted along the Jarandih-Bokaro Thermal rail section near the Barwabera forest area.

Though it was wrong on the part of the people to come out of their vehicles, the tiger did not harm anyone nor was it pestered. The tiger must have come out of the forest owing to sparse traffic on the railway track which, otherwise, is busy when the side road is open, added sources.

Tigers and other wild animals like elephants have been sighted frequently on the forested Barwabera and there has been no record of a tiger or elephant attacking any passer-by. The pictures of the tiger went viral on social media with several comments and likes on Facebook.