Umaria (MP), Sep 5: A 25-year-old woman from a village in Madhya Pradesh showed exemplary courage and saved her 15-month-old son from the jaws of a tiger.

The two are currently undergoing treatment in a hospital for the injuries they received in the incident which took place in Umaria district's Rohania village under Mala beat of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve on Sunday morning.

District officials said they are trying to trace the tiger and would take steps to ensure the safety of people living in forest areas.

The woman, identified as Archana Choudhary, said she had taken her son Raviraj to a field to answer nature's call when the tiger attacked him and held him by its jaws.

When she tried to save her son, the feline attacked her also.

Choudhary said she kept making efforts to save her child.

She also raised an alarm and later some villagers reached there. The villagers then chased away the carnivore, who fled into the forest leaving the child behind.

Choudhary's husband Bhola Prasad said his wife received waist, hand and back injuries and their son was hurt on the head and back.

After the attack, the woman and her son were immediately taken to a health centre in Manpur and later to the district hospital in Umaria for treatment, forest guard Ram Singh Marko said.

A forest department team was trying to track the tiger which attacked the child and his mother, he said.

Umaria Collector Sanjeev Shrivastava met the woman and her son in the district hospital.

He said the two have been referred to a hospital in Jabalpur for further treatment.

The collector also said he will hold a meeting with the forest department officials to ensure the safety of villagers residing in forest areas.

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Pune, Feb 10 (PTI): Amidst high drama, former Maharashtra minister Tanaji Sawant’s son Rishiraj was brought back to Pune along with two friends on late Monday evening, cutting short their trip to Bangkok, hours after police filed a kidnapping case, officials said.

According to Ranjan Kumar Sharma, joint commissioner of police, Rishiraj Sawant (32) and his two friends had booked a chartered plane for Bangkok without informing his family, but an anonymous phone call spoilt their travel plans.

After police registered a kidnapping case following the anonymous call made to the control room, his whereabouts were traced and he was brought back to Pune along with his friends, he said at a hurriedly convened press conference.

"Our police control room received a call around 4 pm in which an anonymous caller informed us that Rishiraj was taken away by some unidentified people. Accordingly, we swung into action and registered a kidnapping offence.

"During the probe, it was revealed Rishiraj along with his two friends had booked a chartered plane for Bangkok. We tracked the flight and contacted the airline for the aircraft's return. The flight has now returned to Pune with three passengers, including Rishiraj," informed Sharma.

"We will enquire and find out the purpose of his trip to Bangkok and why he did not inform the family about his travel plans," the police officer said.

While replying to a question, Tanaji Sawant, who was present at the police briefing, denied any dispute with his son.

According to police sources, the flight to the Thailand capital was booked for Rs 78 lakh.

The former minister said he contacted police after coming to know his son had left for the airport with friends without informing the family.

A week ago, Rishiraj Sawant had gone to Dubai, but this trip was known to family members, said the senior politician.

Asked about the police machinery going into an overdrive to trace his son and bring him back, the former minister maintained was worried as a father.

Joint commissioner of police Sharma said the anonymous call indicated Rishiraj Sawant was taken away by unidentified people and on that basis, an FIR of kidnapping was registered.

The IPS officer opined that in such cases, things do not proceed unless an FIR is registered and that is why police moved quickly and filed an offence.