Forest officials said the full-grown tigress had strayed into Deulbari village in Kultali in West Bengal's South 24-Parganas district on Sunday evening.

The tigress was at the receiving end of mob fury ever since she was spotted by the villagers who gave her a hot chase and pelted stones at her, the officials said.

Five forest guards were injured by the irate villagers who tried to prevent them from taking the animal away. Three villagers were injured by the tigress. Of them, the condition of one, Ashu Dhali, admitted to the primary health centre, was serious, sources said.

Hounded by the frightened villagers, the big cat, which had to swim across two rivers - Matla and Makri - to reach the village, climbed up a banyan tree for shelter, sources said.

Forest guards arrived at the spot and encircled the tree with a net to trap the animal but the locals set the tree on fire.

On seeing the flames, the scared animal jumped from the tree-top on to the net, tore it apart and escaped to an abandoned village hut, the sources said.