Bhubaneswar: An elderly woman was killed while five others were injured in an attack by a stray bull at Rokat village on the city outskirts on Monday. The deceased was identified as Hemalata Das (75).
Following the incident, locals blocked the road by placing the body of the woman, demanding action and due compensation for the victim’s family.
“We had complained to Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation about the bull menace in our village a few days back. But they said the area is out of their jurisdiction,” Bijay Mallick, a panchayat samiti member in Rokat, said.
Mallick alleged that they even reached out to local forest officers, but they refused to help on the ground that they don’t deal with stray animals. “If they had listened to our grievances, such a tragedy wouldn’t have struck our village,” he said.
Jagat Behera, another agitator, said that the bull had gone mad and posed a danger to everyone. “The administration should be held responsible for the death of the woman,” Behera said.
A team from Mancheswar police station reached the site and tried to pacify the villagers to lift the blockade. An enforcement team of the BMC also reached the spot later and caught the stray animal.
“We are continuously capturing stray animals and shifting them to our kine house. Though the area is out of our jurisdiction, our team successfully caught the bull in Rokat, a panchayat area, and brought it under control,” city mayor Sulochana Das said.
“If the area is out of BMC’s jurisdiction, the district administration should have acted on the villagers’ pleas. Even in the BMC area, the stray dog and bull menace is increasing,” alleged Patia resident Ritesh Mohapatra.