13 villagers attacked by jackals in Pilibhit, Bareilly villages in UP

PILIBHIT: After leopards, tigers, and wolves, jackals are now wreaking havoc in UP villages. A lone jackal attacked eight people, including two children, in Suswar and Pansoli villages under Jahanabad police station, Pilibhit district, between Friday night and Saturday morning. Sources in the village said it was eventually surrounded and beaten to death by locals in Pansoli. The attack followed a similar incident in the nearby Jadopur village, where ten jackals injured three people on Thursday night.

Additionally, five villagers, including two women, were mauled by jackals in the past 24 hours in Jasai Nagar and Bijauria villages, Baheri tehsil, Bareilly. The victims, all adults, were identified as Sachin Singh, Shayama Kali, Maharani Devi, Shyama Charan, and Dinesh Kumar.

Baheri sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Ratnika Shrivastav stated that the jackals attacked while the villagers were engaged in agricultural work. Police and forest teams have been deployed to monitor the situation in both villages, and an advisory on safety precautions has been issued. The injured have been taken to the local community health centre for treatment, she added.

While forest department officials in Pilibhit claimed that the lone jackal "died in an accident," forest inspector Sheelendra Singh Yadav, who visited Suswar to review the situation, could not explain the "nature of the accident."

Amaria SDM Ajit Pratap Singh said the injured were taken to the community health centre and later transferred to the Pilibhit district hospital for anti-rabies shots. He added, "We have advised villagers to avoid going to agricultural fields alone, especially near the Apsara river, at night. Moving in groups with sticks is a safer option."

Villagers reported that Roshni (17) was the first to be attacked by the jackal around 11 pm on Friday in her house courtyard. Another victim, Kalawati Devi (40), was attacked while sweeping outside her home early Saturday morning. Minutes later, the jackal bit Jaswant Lal (23), Deen Dayal (50), and Roop Lal (28) as they sat on a drain culvert. Two children, Pankaj (9) and Khushi (3), were also injured while playing near their homes.

Singh said, "The jackal mauled all its victims within a 250-metre radius in Suswar. It then moved towards Pansoli, 800 metres away, where it attacked a 55-year-old farmer, Mukhtyar Ahmad, who was returning from his fields."

Chief veterinary officer Dr Arvind Kumar Garg said a three-member panel, including Dr Ummed Singh and Dr Pratibha Yadav, had been formed to conduct the jackal's autopsy. "As Dr Daksh Gangwar is on duty in Kheri to capture a man-eating tiger, the autopsy will be completed by the remaining two veterinarians, and the report will be submitted by Monday," he added.

(With inputs from Asif Ansari in Bareilly)


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