A fox was beaten to death allegedly by locals on Sunday in the Sundargarh Forest Range after it injured 11 persons, including an elderly woman, on Saturday midnight.
The critically injured elderly woman has been shifted to the SCB Medical College Hospital at Cuttack. Another five injured have been admitted in the Sundargarh District Headquarters Hospital.
Forest Range official are enquiring about the death of the fox, aged about four years.
The fox entered into the house of Gurubari Prushet (65) and attacked her and her son Lalit, who was also injured. The animal ran after neighbourers when they confronted it.
Being informed, a forest patrolling staffs reached the spot. The fox was driven away, but again it returned and attacked nine more persons and injured them.
On Sunday morning, Assistant Conservator of Forests of Sundargrh Forest Division Mohan Hembrum and other forest officials went to the village and planned to nab the fox by putting a net and leave it in forest. But they were informed that the fox’s carcass was lying near roadside at nearby Manamunda village. Forest officials seized the carcass.
While locals maintained that the fox died in a road accident, it was suspected that it was beaten to death by locals. After postmortem, the carcass was buried in the forest.
Forest officials have registered an unnatural death case and started enquiring into the incident. "If it is confirmed that the fox was killed, we will turn it to a murder case and further necessary action will be taken,” said Range Officer Arun Behera