The last of the pack of six wolves that had kept local authorities and residents on edge during rigorous attempts to capture the man-eating animals has been eliminated. According to information released, the last wolf from the pack was beaten to death by villagers after it entered a human-inhabited area in search of prey in Tamachpur village of Bahraich district.
"Late Saturday night, we received information that people had killed a wolf in Tamachpur village under Ramgaon police station in Mahsi tehsil. When we arrived, we found the dead wolf and the body of a goat. There were injury marks on the wolf’s body, and it was bleeding," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ajit Pratap Singh said.
"Upon closer inspection, we found that the dead wolf was an adult female. After inquiring, we learned that the wolf had entered the inhabited area and was carrying away a goat. On the way, the villagers surrounded and killed it. The wolf's body has been brought to the range office for a post-mortem," he added.
Some of the villagers from Tamachpur, where the wolf was beaten to death, informed reporters that the animal entered the area looking for prey. As it was about to attack a child sleeping next to his mother in a courtyard, the mother began screaming, causing the wolf to run away. However, it attacked a goat on its way out, they said.
"Later, the villagers surrounded the wolf and beat it to death," they added.
It is important to note that the government launched "Operation Bhediya" on July 17 to capture all six man-eating wolves that had caused havoc in the region. While five of the wolves were captured earlier, the last wolf remain eluded for a long time, keeping the authorities on toes.
Moreover, the pack of six wolves had terrorized at least 50 villages in Mahsi tehsil of Bahraich district with their repeated attacks. So far, at least eight people, including seven children, are suspected to have been killed by the pack.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had also assured the public that the district administration and police would continue working until the wolf threat was neutralized. He had conducted an aerial inspection of the area on September 15 and met with the families of those who lost their lives in the wolf attacks.
