Operation Bhediya: One more boy attacked, wolf or not, jury out

After a gap of three days, another boy was attacked and injured, allegedly by a wolf, in Yadavpur village, under the Tejwapur development block – barely 10 km from Bahraich city – on Thursday night, cocking a snook at the security bandobast by the district administration and all the paraphernalia involved.
One Kriparam, 65 and his grandson, Sonu, also sustained injuries in an attack of an animal in Lodhanpurwa hamlet of the same Yadavpur village on Friday morning. After the news spread in the area, a forest team rushed to the spot and villagers also rounded up the animal and killed it. Later, Kriparam identified and confirmed that he was attacked by the same dog.
Divisional forest officer (DFO), Bahraich, Ajit Pratap Singh, said that no pugmark of a wolf was found on the spot. The DFO said Sangam Lal must have also been injured in a dog attack as no pugmarks of a wolf were found in the area and the other two villagers were also injured by a dog. However, relatives of Sangam Lal said that he was attacked by a wolf on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, the wolves’ location was found in Pachdevri village on Thursday, the DFO said, adding the village where the attack took place is about 20 kilometers away.
Prior to this, one Afsan, 5, was attacked and injured in Girdharpur village on September 3, while Anjali, 3, was killed in Nauwan Garethi on September 2 under Mahsi Tehsil area.
According to sources, an eight-year-old boy, Sangam Lal, was attacked by a wolf when he and his sister had gone out of the house to fetch water in Golwa hamlet of Yadavpur village on Thursday night. The boy was rushed to the district hospital where he was being treated for the injuries.
The DFO said it was yet not confirmed whether it was a wolf attack or some other animal. He said that the village where the incident took place is far away from the habitat and movement area of the wolves seen so far.
The area where the attack took place is close to Bahraich city, where residential houses increase and the sugarcane fields decrease. The DFO was of the view that a wolf would never go to a place where he has no place to hide after an attack. The animal always looks for a big patch of sugarcane fields or the river basin area to keep itself safe and to eat its prey after an attack.
He said teams have been sent to the village to investigate the attacks.
SHARIQ RAIS SIDDIQUI