A four-year-old boy was dragged away by a wolf in the early hours of Sunday, sending shockwaves through Godahiya village in Bahraich district's Kaiserganj area. This tragic incident is the latest in a horrifying series of wolf attacks that have claimed at least ten lives in the region over just two months.
A Night of Terror in Godahiya Village
The victim, Subhash, was asleep with his parents, Santosh and Kiran, in their mud house when the predator struck. A wolf entered the dwelling, seized the child by its jaws, and fled into the night. Kiran was jolted awake by her son's cries and ran after the animal, screaming for help.
Villagers armed with sticks immediately joined the frantic chase, but the wolf vanished within seconds into the darkness. An intensive search operation involving local residents, police, and forest officials lasted for over eleven hours. They scoured nearby fields, sugarcane patches, and riverbanks.
The search party could only recover the child's torn clothes and small pieces of flesh nearly one kilometre away from his home. The devastated mother, Kiran, repeatedly fainted during the agonising search. Despite efforts continuing through Sunday morning by joint police and forest teams, the boy could not be found. Authorities have stated operations will persist until the area is secured.
A Disturbing Pattern of Attacks
This attack is not an isolated event. The Kaiserganj region has been witnessing a terrifying surge in wolf attacks on humans. In the same Godahiya village, a five-year-old child was dragged away on November 29. Although villagers managed to rescue the boy from a sugarcane field, he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
Merely days later, on December 5, two more children were attacked and injured by wolves. The alarming statistics reveal the scale of the crisis: at least 10 people, including eight children, have been killed, and 32 others injured in wolf attacks across a span of two months.
Government Response and Action Taken
In response to the escalating threat, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued a shoot-at-sight order against the marauding wolves. Following this directive, the forest department has deployed trained shooters to neutralise the danger.
Teams are now patrolling affected villages, issuing safety advisories, and assisting residents in fortifying their homes during the night. The forest department has reported some success in these control measures. Officials have neutralised four wolves so far: in Gola (October 15), Mallahanpurwa (October 28), near Lohiya Purwa (November 15), and near Mihipurwa (November 21).
Kaiserganj Ranger Omkar Yadav reached the spot with a forest squad soon after receiving the alert about the latest attack. The administration remains on high alert as operations continue to track the animal and prevent further tragedy in the terror-stricken villages of Bahraich.
