Bears maul three shepherds to death in MP forest

Three shepherds were mauled to death and another one was seriously injured by a pack of bears today in a forest in Anuppur district, a Forest officer said.

The bears also killed 12 goats.

The incident occurred when four shepherds were camping in the forest adjoining Lahsuna village, the officer said.

They were returning from Chhattisgarh along with herds of goats, camels and sheep, he said.

When they were resting, the bears attacked them in the wee hours today, he said.

The sheep and camels ran away in the forest, however, the goats got killed, as they were tied to a tree, according to the officer.

The deceased are identified as Mera (35), Chela Rabbani (48) and his wife Naki (45), the officer said, adding that the deceased hailed from Bhuj in Gujarat.

The injured person is identified as Raga Rabbani (40), he said.

The incident came to light this morning, when some villagers spotted Raga lying injured along the roadside, the officer said.

Raga was admitted in a hospital in Bilaspur in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

The bodies of the deceased were in bad shape, the officer said.