A two-year-old girl was killed, while three other people were injured as wolves continued to terrorise Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich. The latest attacks took place despite officials from the forest department patrolling the area.
The girl, identified as Anjali, was attacked in the early hours of Monday. She
Of the three injured people, seven-year-old Paras and Kamala Devi have been hospitalised, while the third person has been identified as Anchala.
Kamala Devi said that she had gone to the washroom at around 11.30 pm on Sunday night when she was attacked by the wolf.
"While I was returning from the washroom, the wolf attacked me and scratched my neck and ear. I started screaming, after which the wolf left," she said.
Kamala Devi's son, Mansa Ram said that the wolf managed to push through a door in the house which was not fixed properly, and attacked his mother.
Speaking to reporters, Monika Rani, the District Magistrate of Bahraich, urged people to be alert and sleep indoors in the wake of the ongoing attacks.
"We have caught four wolves, two are left. Our team is continuously patrolling. We are trying our best to catch the remaining wolves as soon as possible," she was quoted as saying by ANI news agency.
Currently, at least 35 villages in Bahraich are on high alert after a pack of wolves killed eight children and a woman in the past one-and-a-half months.
So far, the forest department has managed to capture four wolves under 'Operation Bhediya', and is using elephant dung and urine to drive away the others.
The department has also formed several teams to patrol the areas in the night.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath released an advisory following the wolf attacks.
"Required steps should be taken to catch the wolves at all costs. As per the instructions given earlier, the administration, police, forest department, local panchayat, and revenue department should create widespread public awareness in the area," he said in the advisory.
"People should also be told about safety measures. The cooperation of public representatives should also be taken in this," he added.
The forest minister has been directed to ensure that additional personnel from the forest department are deployed in Bahraich, Sitapur, Lakhimpur, Pilibhit, Bijnor and other districts. The Chief Minister said in the directive that senior officers should camp in the districts.
He further said in the advisory that the forest department should make arrangements for providing Petromax lights in villages which have electricity issues.
Source: India Today