Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday proudly declared that India had completed the target of doubling the tiger population fours years ago.

He said it was decided at St. Petersburg nine years ago that the target of doubling the tiger population would be 2022.

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“The tiger population in India has increased from 2,226 in 2014 to 2,967 in 2018,” PM Modi said while releasing the results of the fourth cycle of All India Tiger Estimation at his official residence in New Delhi.

With nearly 3000 tigers, Modi said, India is one of the biggest and safest habitats in the world.

“The results of the just declared tiger census would make every Indian, every Nature lover happy,” he added.

Ahead of the release of the report, the Prime had tweeted that the Government of India was committed to taking all possible steps and supporting all efforts to protect tigers.

Releasing the results of All India Tiger Estimation. #InternationalTigerDay https://t.co/b73ADzson4

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 29, 2019

This comes days after an adult tigress that injured nine persons in Mataina village in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district was trapped and beaten to death by villagers on Thursday.

The angry villagers did not allow the injured tigress to be taken to the veterinary hospital and the animal succumbed to her injuries within a few hours.

An FIR has been lodged against 31 identified and 12 unknown people. The autopsy conducted by a panel of three veterinarians said that the tigress died of injuries inflicted upon her by the villagers.

The Pilibhit district and Pilibhit Tiger Reserve have witnessed deaths of as many as 16 tigers and 3 leopards within the jungle and its surroundings since 2012.

Most of the deaths were caused by poisoning, snaring, affliction with contagious ailments like canine distemper, while only a few were due to infighting.