4 hurt

Khargone: Four persons were injured in separate wild animal attacks in Khargone district on Saturday, officials said.

Three agricultural workers were injured after being attacked by a wild animal, suspected to be a leopard or a hyena, in Dasnawal village, around 25 km from Khargone town.

According to the victims, the incident occurred around 2 pm when workers were clearing bushes along a field embankment and had set dry vegetation on fire. The animal, hiding inside the bushes, suddenly emerged and attacked them, creating panic in the area. The injured were rushed to the district hospital.

Villagers claimed that the animal had been spotted near a pond close to the village for the past 15 days and repeated complaints had gone unaddressed.

Khargone DFO Ramesh Rathore said that forest officials rushed to the spot after receiving information, adding that it was yet to be confirmed whether the animal was a leopard or a hyena.

In another incident, a labourer Kalu Singh was seriously injured in a wild boar attack in Barwaha forest region. He was referred to Indore, said BMO sBarwaha.tnn