A 25-year-old man was mauled to death by bears in a forest in Chhattisgarh's Surajpur district, a forest official said on Saturday.
The attack took place on Friday when Shivkumar Pavle, a native of Abhaypur village under Premnagar forest range, was on his way to his paddy field on a bicycle, said J R Bhagat, divisional forest officer (DFO) Surajpur forest division.
Pavle was accompanied by another villager Sunny Singh (22) when they encountered two bears, the official said.
While Singh managed to flee the scene, the animals attacked Pavle, injuring him severely, he said.
On being alerted about the incident, villagers rushed to the spot and chased the bears away, the official said, adding that the victim succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to a hospital.
The kin of the deceased were given an immediate assistance of Rs 25,000 and the remaining compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh will be given after completion of formalities, he said.
A case has been registered in this regard, the DFO added.