RAIPUR: Four people were killed and three others were critically injured in separate bear attacks across the Kanker and Dhamtari districts of Chhattisgarh, triggering panic in affected villages and anger against forest officials.
The first incident occurred in broad daylight on Wednesday at Largaon Markatola near the Kanker district headquarters, close to a local high school and girls' hostel.
In Kanker, Gorse Juri (50), a cook at a local ashram, was returning home with her brother, Halal Khor Juri (45), and two young children when they were allegedly attacked by an aggressive female bear.
In an attempt to protect the children, the brother and sister first managed to get them to safety before confronting the animal.
Hearing their cries for help, another sister, Khorin Bai Juri (43), who was working in a nearby field, rushed to their rescue. However, the bear overpowered all three and killed them. The incident triggered panic in the area.
Addressing the unusually aggressive behaviour of the animal, Kanker Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Raunak Goyal said the female bear had lost her cub a day earlier due to a severe liver infection, as confirmed by a postmortem report.
"Distraught and infuriated by the sudden loss of her cub, the female bear lashed out in a violent frenzy when she unexpectedly encountered the villagers," Goyal said.
In a separate incident in the Narharpur forest circle's Siharinala area in Kanker district, a wild bear allegedly attacked and killed a villager identified as Devbali Ram Dhruv.
In the Singpur range of Dhamtari district, two villagers, Ramprasad Sahu of Parsabuda and Ramprasad of Halba Amlidih, were allegedly attacked by a bear while collecting wild mushrooms in the forest bordering their villages. Both sustained serious injuries after a desperate struggle to escape.
Officials announced immediate financial assistance of Rs 25,000 to the families of the deceased. An ex gratia compensation of Rs 6 lakh for each victim's family will be disbursed within a week.
Meanwhile, the forest administration has issued an urgent advisory asking villagers not to enter forest areas alone.
