Woman dies of rabies after being attacked by jackal in UP

BAREILLY: After a father-son duo died after being bitten by a rabies-infected cat in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, a 50-year-old woman who was wounded in a jackal attack nearly 20 days ago, succumbed during treatment in Bareilly.

Victim Choti Begum, 50, a resident of Barkhan village under the limits of Nawabganj police station, was attacked by a jackal, along with two other women, while gathering fodder for cattle in a nearby forest.

All three women then were admitted at the community health centre from where they were discharged after treatment.

However, on Friday, Choti’s condition deteriorated because of a rabies infection and she was again rushed to the hospital for treatment, where she died during treatment.

Afsari Begum, 40, one of the survivors, said: “The aggressive jackal bit Choti on her face, and she was injured while trying to help. Villagers had to intervene and kill the jackal to protect us. The doctor had given us injections but now Choti has died because of infection and I am scared about myself. There are many jackals in the area but the forest department is not taking any action.”

Forest Ranger K.K. Mishra said: “We will send a team to the village to investigate the incident. In case if a jackal was killed by the villagers, then we may have to register an FIR in this case under the Wildlife Protection Act.”