Three bears mauled a 40-year-old man to death in a forest in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district, an official said on Monday.
Jawahar Baiga of Kurdar village was surrounded by the bears near a hill in Kota buffer zone of Achanakmar Tiger Reserve (ATR) on Sunday when he went to collect tendu leaves, ATR Deputy Director Satyadev Sharma said.
Baiga was accompanied by other villagers but they managed to escape. The animals pounced on him and killed him on the spot, Sharma said.
The victim’s kin were given an immediate aid of Rs 25,000, the official said.