A five-year-old girl was injured in a wolf attack in Mahsi tehsil of Bahraich district on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, the district information department said.
According to the locals, Afsana was sleeping in her house in Pandohia village when a wolf attacked her and the marks of the animal's teeth were visible on her neck.
Family members and villagers rushed the injured girl to a community health centre in Mahsi for treatment. Officers from various departments and the Bharatiya Janata Party MLA of Mahsi, Sureshvar Singh, reached the village and advised people to remain alert.
According to officials, eight people, including seven children, have lost their lives and more than 30 people have been injured in wolf attacks in less than two months.
Nearby Sitapur district has also reported animal attacks, while leopard sightings have been recorded in Rampur, Pilibhit districts, and other areas in the wake of the monsoon season.
On Monday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath instructed officials to intensify patrolling and deploy additional manpower in districts sensitive to human-wildlife conflict, amid a rise in loss of human lives in animal attacks in parts of the state.
Emphasising that the government is committed to safeguarding the lives of all citizens, he directed top officials to implement comprehensive security measures in the wildlife-sensitive zones to bring the situation under control at the earliest possible, according to an official statement.
He also emphasised that all necessary efforts should be made to control and capture these wild animals, the statement said.
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister sought an update on the situation from Forest Minister Arun Kumar Saxena who had recently returned from tours of Bijnor and Moradabad and instructed him to visit Pilibhit and Lakhimpur Kheri on Tuesday.
Adityanath highlighted the need for extensive public awareness to safeguard against wild animal attacks and instructed officials that information on safety measures be disseminated through the administration, police, forest department, local panchayats, and revenue departments.
He also directed officials to deploy additional forest department personnel in sensitive areas, including in Bahraich, Sitapur, Lakhimpur, Pilibhit, and Bijnor.
