Mithuns wreak havoc in BTR's Baksa; 8 injured

BAKSA: Amidst the joy of Rangali Bihu, two wild Mithuns reached a village in Baksa district of Assam, causing intense terror and wounding 8 villagers.

Residents of the Sahpur village in Baksa's Nagrijuli first saw the mithuns early in the morning around 8:00 am and soon, a large crowd gathered to witness the rare sight of the majestic beasts.

The situation soon turned dire, however, as the mithuns became aggressive and attacked the public.

Eight villagers -- namely Sufia Khatun, Basanti Das, Nurul Hussain, Tabibar Rahman, Salam Ali, Sameen Bayan of Dongargaon, Mukund Kalita, and a forest official (Hiren Boro) were injured in the attack by the two gigantic mithuns.

A police team led by Nagariguli police station in-charge Manoj Das reached Sahpur immediately after getting the information.

On the other hand, a forest team led by Ranger Pranab Das from Kumarikata forest range office as well as a team of forest officials of Tamulpur forest range office also reached the village.

All the injured were first rushed to the Nagarijuli Model Hospital.

Three villagers who were critically injured -- Nurul Hussain, Sameen Bayan and Mukunda Kalita -- were sent to Guwahati for better treatment as their injuries were severe.

Outraged locals hit a forest department car in frustration and created an environment of chaos.

Police and forest department have been in the village for hours but their efforts to tame the two beats have proved futile so far.

Pranab Das, Range officer of Kumarikata Range office, told the media: "The two methoons are thought to have come from the hills of Bhutan border through the Balti river and entered the village. They have to be tranquilized. We have already contacted the expert team of Manas Sanctuary for the same. If they do not return to the hills in the night then arrangements will be made to tranquilize them tomorrow."

With inputs from Dipak Kumar Pathak