9 teams deployed to kill man-eating wolf in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich

Bahraich: A team of nine shooters has been deployed in Bahraich forest here to shoot a man-eating wolf at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's order, an officer on Wednesday said.

Six of the shooters are from the forest department and three from police, Bahraich's Divisional Forest Officer Ajit Pratap Singh told PTI.

"The forest department has divided the entire operation into three major sections. Apart from three 'special teams' of three sections, one team has been kept in reserve. Each special section has been given three shooters," he said.

The officer said the team's main task is to identify the man-eating wolf and transfer it to a zoo or shoot it.

"It will not be let free in the forest. Whether to catch and confine or shoot will be decided according to the circumstances as soon as the wolf is sighted. Tranquillising and catching the wolf on the spot will be our priority, but if the need arises, no laxity will be shown in shooting the wolf," he said.

Wolf attacks on humans have been taking place in Bahraich since March. The attacks have become more frequent since July 17 when the rainy season began.

Till Monday, the wolf has killed eight people, seven of them children, and wounded about 36.