A sloth bear.
Credit: iStock Photo
Pendra, Chhattisgarh: Two persons, including a 13-year-old girl, were killed and four others injured in separate incidents of attack by wild sloth bears in Chhattisgarh's Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi (GPM) district, forest officials said on Saturday. While two incidents took place on Saturday morning, another occurred on Friday night in Marwahi forest division, known for the presence of a large number of sloth bears, they said.
The girl, identified as Vidya Kewat, came face to face with the bear when she went to graze her cattle in Beljharia village on Friday evening. The wild animal mauled her to death on the spot, said Raunak Goyal, Division Forest Officer Marwahi. In the same village, three local residents were attacked by a bear when they went to collect mushrooms in a nearby forest this morning, he said.
While Sukkul Prasad (32) died on the spot in the attack, two others Charan Singh Khairwar (50) and Ramkumar (30) sustained grievous injuries, he said. In another incident, two villagers -- Sevak Lal Yadav (30) and Semlal Gond (45) -- were injured after they were attacked by a bear in Kargikala village, he said. The injured have been admitted to a hospital, he said. The kin of the deceased will be given immediate assistance of Rs 25,000, while the remaining compensation will be given after the completion of the required formalities, he added.