Woman mauled by bear in Uttarakhand, loses eye in attack

Kotdwar, Nov 17 (PTI) A woman lost her eye and received serious injuries in a bear attack in the Bironkhal area of Pauri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand on Monday, officials said.

Forest officials said the incident occurred around 9 am in Jivai village when Lakshmi Devi (42) was cutting grass with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, about 200 metres from the village.

Devi lost an eye in the sudden attack, with injuries in her face and head, they said.

Others present there raised an alarm, prompting villagers to rush to the scene. The bear fled into the forest, but by then Devi had been severely injured.

She was immediately taken to the Bironkhal primary health centre. Devi received first aid there and then her family took her to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi as she was critical.

Divisional Forest Officer of the Garhwal Forest Division, Abhimanyu Singh, said that an advance compensation of Rs 50,000 has been given to the injured woman. A team has been deployed in the area to capture the bear, he said.

Devendra Singh Rawat, a villager, said that another man was mauled by a bear in Birgan village about four months ago, and since then, it has attacked and killed several cattle, which has caused fear among people in the area. PTI DPT SKY SKY