Fitting doors in homes, lighting dark spots, more patrol: Bahraich villages grapple with fresh wolf attacks

Besides the steps being taken by the administration, the villagers along with Forest Department teams and other government officials are patrolling the area, Rajbhar said.

Mishri Lal (35), a farmer from Mallahanpurwa, said most houses in the area are thatched structures and families are unable to install proper doors since they are poor. He stressed that streetlights are needed around the village. “Officials are patrolling day and night but unless the sugarcane crop is cut, the threat of sudden wolf attacks will continue as the fields are very close to our homes.”

Kiran, a village resident whose four-month-old infant was taken away and killed by a wolf in the early hours of December 7, says, “We don’t have a door in our house. The animal managed to enter and take away my baby when we were sleeping on a cot.”

Vinay Kumar, a Mallahanpurwa resident in his fifties whose five-year-old grandson was also killed after being taken away by a wolf when he was playing outside their house on November 28, says, “Fearing attacks, we now escort our children to and from school every day. We no longer allow them to play beyond the gate.”

The two villages fall under the Godhiya gram panchayat that has a population of nearly 5,000.

Several villages in the district have seen a spate of wolf attacks this year.

From September to October, wolf attacks left eight people — six of them children — dead and nearly 30 others injured. Most incidents were reported from Manjhara Taukli, with a few cases occurring in nearby villages. Four wolves believed to be behind the attacks were killed by the Forest Department teams at the time.

The attacks in Mallahanpurwa, about 11 km from Manjhara Taukli, signaled a shift in the affected area and reignited fears in the surrounding villages.

Officials said the wolf attacks appeared to be happening in a 25-km radius in the district.

Bahraich Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Akhilesh Singh said the administration is continuously creating awareness among villagers and strengthening preventive measures. He said streetlights are being installed and doors are being fitted in houses that currently do not have any.

“Cutting sugarcane crops in the affected areas is being taken up on a priority basis to eliminate hiding spaces for wolves,” Singh said, adding that a meeting was held with sugarcane mill owners to ensure coordination and expedite the process.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Bahraich, Ram Singh Yadav, said two wolves involved in recent attacks were killed earlier this week and efforts are on to trace and capture the remaining animals. “The department is making all necessary arrangements and is closely monitoring the affected areas. Regular patrolling is being carried out to ensure public safety,” the DFO said.