Hyena spotted around Madhya Pradesh village where 6 died in attack by unidentified animal; search operation on

Six people died after being bitten by an unidentified animal in a village in Madhya Pradesh.

Indore: In the wake of death of six persons after being bitten by an unidentified animal in Madhya Pradesh's Barwani district recently, the forest department has intensified its search operation after local residents informed the authorities about sighting a hyena in the area, officials said on Wednesday.

Prima facie, the yet-to-be-identified animal that attacked the villagers was infected with rabies virus, although the investigation report is awaited to confirm it, they said.

An unidentified animal attacked 17 people in Limbai village and its surrounding areas in the early hours of May 5 when they were asleep outside their homes due to heat. Six of these 17 people died between May 23 and June 2. After being bitten by the animal, all the 17 people had been given anti-rabies vaccines, the officials said.

Talking to PTI, Forest Range Officer (Ranger) Vikas Jamre said, "People of Limbai village have informed us that a hyena was spotted in the surrounding areas. Pugmarks suspected to be of the animal have also been found there. After this, we have intensified our search operation." Forty-five personnel of the forest department are involved in the operation to search the hyena within the 15-km radius of Limbai village. The forest boundary is about 4.50 km away from the village, he said.

"The suspected pugmarks of the hyena are being investigated. It has not been confirmed yet whether these footprints are of a hyena," Jamre said.

Barwani's Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Surekha Jamre said, "A 35-year-old man among those who fell ill after the attack by the unknown animal is admitted in the district hospital and his condition is stable. Remaining others are also fine." The brain tissue of the person who died after being bitten and saliva samples of the surviving patients have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune to confirm whether they were infected with rabies virus or not, she said.

Dr Arvind Ghanghoria, dean of Indore-based Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, said, "We suspect that six people from Barwani district have died due to rabies. To confirm this, the brain tissue of a deceased person has been sent to a laboratory in Delhi for testing. Its report is awaited."