Sloth bear kills an army personnel in Kota

An Army personnel was killed while another was critically injured after a Sloth bear attacked them on Monday at the banks of the Chambal River in Kota district of Rajasthan.

As per the police on Monday body of 19-year old Army jawan, Surendra Singh Garhwal was found in Shambupura area of Kota. "We found a mauled body along the side of the banks of Chambal River. After identification it was found that the deceased is an army personnel who belongs to the Garhwal Rifles", investigation officer Muninendra Singh at Kunhari Police Station said. The body of the Army man was found around 5.30 pm on Monday in a gorge close to the Chambal River.

Police further said that the incident took place on Monday evening when the Army man and his another colleague were walking towards the Chambal river. Both were returning from firing practice when the Sloth bear attached them.

"While Singh scummed to the injuries but his colleague managed to escape. We recovered the mauled body on the spot", said Muninendra Singh, who was a part of a joint rescue operation launched by the Army and police personnel.

Postmortem conducted on Tuesday

On Tuesday body of the deceased jawan, Army jawan Surendra Singh Garhwal was handed over to Army officials after postmortem at the Maharao Bhim Singh (MBS) Hospital in Kota. The deceased hailed from Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.

Forests in the Chambal region are home to sloth bears, hyenas and leopards. On the banks of the Chambal River in Shabhupura area of the city, there is Army camp situated. Earlier also there have been a couple of incidents where sloth bears attacked the pedestrians.