NAGPUR, May 23 -- Four women were mauled to death by a tigress in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district early on Friday, taking the toll of human-wildlife conflicts in the district to 18 since January, forest officials said. Accrording to officials, the incident took place in the Gunjewahi forest area of Sindewahi tehsil, adjacent to the Tadoba tiger project, nearly 200 km from Nagpur. According to reports, the tigress suddenly pounced on a group of 13 women who went to the forest early morning to collect tendu leaves - which are predominantly used as the natural wrapper for 'bidis' (hand-rolled cigarettes). The deceased were identified as Kavdubai Dadaji Mohurle (45), Anubai Dadaji Mohurle (46), Sangeeta Santosh Chaudhary (36), and Sunita Kaushik Mohurle (33), all residents of Gunjewahi Village. After the attack, the survivors rushed back to the village and alerted the residents. Villagers later returned to the forest with police and forest officials to retrieve the bodies. Sindewahi Range forest officer Anjali Sayankar said senior police and forest authorities immediately rushed to the spot after receiving information and launched an investigation into the incident. "The forest department provided an immediate compensation of Rs.25,000 to each of the bereaved families. We have also initiated several measures to minimise man-animal conflict in the region," Sayankar said. Earlier, on May 18, 55-year-old Vanita Shankar Uike was killed by a tiger in Nagbhid taluka while collecting tendu leaves....