An infant was taken away by a wolf in the Kaiserganj area here on Sunday, triggering an intense search operation by forest teams and villagers using drone cameras, officials said. The child and the predator remain untraced, they said.
According to villagers, the missing four-month-old infant, Subhash, son of Santosh and Kiran of Mallahanpurwa, was sleeping beside his mother when the wolf entered the house around 1.30 am.
“The predator silently walked in, lifted the baby from the mother’s arms, clamped him in its jaws and fled,” a resident said. Villagers chased the animal but it vanished with the child. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ram Singh Yadav confirmed the incident.
The incident is the latest in a series of wolf attacks that have gripped the village with fear.
Over the past nine days, Mallahanpurwa has witnessed three such attacks.
On November 28, a five-year-old boy, Star, was killed in a wolf attack. On December 5, another five-year-old girl was injured.
“We received information that the child was taken by a wild animal around 1.30 am. Drone-assisted combing operations were launched immediately by our teams already stationed in the village,” Yadav said.
“Teams are searching riverbanks, sugarcane fields and all locations where sightings have been reported. Trained shooters are part of the operation. The animal will either be rescued or, if necessary, shot,” Yadav added.
Bahraich district has been reeling under wolf attacks since September 9. Eight children and an elderly couple have died so far.
According to the Forest Department, 32 people have been injured in such attacks.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath conducted an aerial survey of the affected region on September 27 and ordered that the wolf be safely captured and, if that failed, shot.
Rescue specialists and shooters from other districts and states have been deployed.
Since September 28, four wolves have been killed during operations.
