Angry villagers kill wild bear after it kills 2, injures 3

OST Bureau

Angul, July 30: Angry villagers killed a wild bear in retaliation after it killed two villagers in Kanaloi village under Chhendipada police station on Monday. Three others seriously injured in the attack by the bear are being treated at the Angul hospital. Another person, who sustained minor injuries, was discharged after treatment, sources told OST.

The deceased, identified as Trilochan Naik and Adhiraj Naik, had gone to the forests to collect wild mushroom when Trilochan Naik was pounced upon by the bear, villagers said. “When Adhiraj returned to the forest along with 5/6 villagers to rescue Trilochan, he too was attacked and killed by the bear,” said Kushna Chandra Naik, a resident of Kanaloi. Four others were also injured in the attack, he said.

Confirming the death of two villagers and the bear, divisional forest officer (DFO) Jagmohan Mishra said the families of the deceased would compensation of Rs 2 lakh while the injured would get compensation based on the severity of their injury as per government rules.

Asked about the reasons for the death of the bear, the DFO said; “Though we are yet to inquire into the circumstances in which the bear died, I have been informed by the VAS who conducted the post mortem that it sustained severe injuries on its spinal cord.” The dead bear has been buried after post mortem, he said.

In a similar incident in May this, a wild bear was killed by angry villagers after it went berserk and killed as many as eight people in Kotpad in Koraput district.