Fear Stalks Bahraich Villages After Fatal Wolf Attacks
A renewed wave of terror has descended upon villages in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district, where three young children have been killed by wolves in the past two weeks. The attacks, concentrated in villages near the Ghagra river, have forced communities into a state of lockdown, with parents refusing to let children play outside their homes.
A Community Gripped by Grief and Fear
The nightmare began on November 28 in Mallahanpurwa village, when a five-year-old boy named Star was snatched by a wolf while playing outside his house. His grandfather, Vinay Kumar, expressed the collective trauma: "We now escort our children to and from school every day. Our kids are no longer allowed to play beyond the gate."
The horror repeated in the early hours of December 7, when a four-month-old infant sleeping beside his mother on a cot was dragged away from his own home. The infant's mother, Kiran, blamed their poverty and lack of a proper door: "We don't have a door at our house... the animal managed to enter and take away my baby." A forest official confirmed the mother woke to see the animal fleeing with her child.
Most homes in these areas are ghas-phoos (thatched structures) without doors, a vulnerability villagers believe the wolves exploited. The recent attacks in Mallahanpurwa and nearby Jaruva village signal a shift from earlier incidents this year, reigniting fear across a wider area.
Administration's Multi-Pronged Response
Facing intense pressure, the district administration has launched a series of emergency measures. Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Akhilesh Singh outlined the steps being taken on a war footing:
- Installing streetlights in dark stretches of the affected villages.
- Fitting doors in houses that currently lack them.
- Prioritizing the cutting of dense sugarcane fields that wolves use as cover and escape routes.
- Holding coordination meetings with sugarcane mill owners to expedite crop cutting.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ram Singh Yadav reported that two wolves believed responsible for the recent attacks were killed earlier this week. Forest department teams, along with villagers, are conducting regular patrols. "The department is making all necessary arrangements and is closely monitoring the affected areas," Yadav stated.
Ongoing Threat and Historical Context
This is not an isolated crisis. Between September and October this year, wolf attacks in the district claimed eight lives—six of them children—and injured around 30 people. While four wolves were killed by the forest department then, the threat has resurfaced with a vengeance.
Villagers like farmer Mishri Lal remain skeptical of lasting safety until the sugarcane, which grows perilously close to homes, is fully cleared. "Officials are patrolling day and night, but unless the sugarcane crop is cut, the threat of sudden wolf attacks will continue," he stressed.
Chandan Kumar Rajbhar, husband of the Mallahanpurwa village pradhan, noted the unprecedented nature of the terror. Initially, it was suspected wolves strayed into human habitats after flooding near the riverbank, but they have remained even after waters receded. The affected villages under the Godhiya gram panchayat, home to around 5,000 residents, now live with a constant sense of dread, their daily lives fundamentally altered by the predator lurking in the shadows.
