Inquiry ordered into bear attack in Odisha

A three-member high power official team headed by state’s chief wildlife warden arrived in Odisha’s tribal-dominated Koraput district on Monday to conduct a detailed inquiry into the death of eight people following an attack by a bear in villages in the Kotpad area.

While the female bear from the wild killed three villagers on Saturday, five more became its victim on a single day on Sunday. Besides this, five villagers were injured in the attack. Subsequently, the bear was beaten to death by angry villagers.

“The official team will conduct a detailed investigation into the unfortunate incident. They have been asked to submit their report within 48 hours,” state forest and environment minister Bijoyshree Routray said.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has already announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the family of each of the villagers killed in the incident. The medical expenses of the injured persons will be taken care of by the government.

Sources in the secretariat said the government ordered an inquiry into the incident following allegations that the incident could have been avoided with a little alertness on part of the local forest officials.
DH News Service