Wolf that killed toddler in Bahraich captured | Lucknow News

Lucknow: A wolf that killed a two-year-old boy in Bahraich’s Garhipurwa village earlier this week was captured by forest officials on Saturday evening following an intensive three-day combing operation. According to forest officials, the animal was spotted with the help of a drone during a surveillance operation in a sugarcane field near Sardar Farm, about six kilometres from the site of the deadly attack. It was subsequently cornered around 7 pm with the help of villagers. “We used a trap cage to safely capture the wolf, which was then transported to the divisional headquarters. Its health is being assessed, and further action will follow,” said divisional forest officer Ajit Pratap Singh. The DFO said that while villagers claimed it was a wolf, investigators also found traces of two jackals near the attack site. “We have caged the wolf; however, there is a possibility that jackals may have been involved. DNA samples from the child’s wounds have been sent to a lab, and similar samples will be collected from the captured wolf to establish a match,” he said. Four days earlier, Khushboo Kumari was resting with her son Ayush on a cot in the verandah at her maternal home in Garhipurwa village of Mahsi tehsil. Around midnight, a wolf stealthily entered the house and snatched the toddler from her lap. “As soon as it clamped its jaws around his neck, Ayush let out a scream,” recalled Khushboo, adding that she saw the wolf dragging her son away. “I screamed and ran after it, but it disappeared into the darkness,” she said, narrating the horrific incident. Panicked family members and villagers searched through the night. Around 5 am the next morning, Ayush’s mutilated body was found in a sugarcane field nearly two kilometres from the house. The animal had devoured both of the child’s arms and one leg. Khushboo fainted upon seeing her son’s body. 12 fatal wolf attacks in two years Bahraich district has witnessed a disturbing pattern of fatal wolf attacks. The latest incident has reignited fear in the region, which was terrorised by a wave of wolf attacks last year that left 11 people dead and over two dozen injured. At that time, four wolves were captured by forest officials after months of panic and chaos. The menace escalated to such alarming levels that in 2024, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath personally visited the region following a string of deaths. In Oct 2024, villagers beat a limping wolf to death after it attacked several people. That incident brought temporary relief, but with the latest killing, fears have returned.