Hungry sloth bear kills a farmer, injures three near Bhopal


BHOPAL: One person was mauled to death and three injured by a hungry sloth bear after it failed to kill their cattle near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, here on Wednesday evening. The incident occurred around 4pm at Dholikumar village Kolar area near under Bhopal forest circle - 12km from district headquarters.

The deceased was identified as Rai Singh Tomar, 22, a resident of the same village. The bear first attacked a cow, then a buffalo. Later it came into confrontation with Rai Singh. His relatives Ramchandra Tomar, 60, Lal Singh, 30, and Mohan Singh, 24 who came to rescue Rai Singh, were also mauled by the animal.

While Rai Singh died on the spot with half of his body consumed by the bear, Ramchandra sustained fatal injuries on his face and other parts of his body. He was rushed to Hamedia Hospital where he is said to be in a critical condition. The other two were rushed to JP Hospital for further treatment. The bear disappeared into the forest after more villagers gathered.

Rai Singh was survived by his wife and a 4-year-old son. His mutilated body was recovered and sent for post-mortem by the forest officials who reached the spot, nearly two hours after receiving the calls. Angry villagers told media that they had made several calls to the forest guard posted at the check post, but he did not respond. Later they dialled 108 and called for an ambulance.

They also claimed that the forest department was informed about this bear on Monday, after it made a kill in their village, but they turned a deaf ear. Forest department has announced compensation to the aggrieved family. Efforts will be made to trap the bear on Thursday, said officials.

No comments:

Post a Comment