Niali: The mystery that shrouds the killing of sheep in a series of incidents in Niali area of Cuttack district has intensified with the death of another sheep and injury to eight more Wednesday night. Forest and environment minister Bijayshree Routray ordered Thursday the spreading out of more search teams to quickly identify the “creatures” killing sheep in the area.
Sources said the as-yet-unidentified creatures attacked and injured a sheep of Babaji Bhoi of Kankadahuda, four sheep of Sobani Barik at Bangalisahi and three sheep of Giridhar Swain of Gobindapada. One of these attacks was fatal. The forest minister stated that as per his information, a pack of wolves were behind the killings.
Routray directed the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) to act fast and trace out the killer creatures. “How long will people wait for this? People have started saying that the killer could even be a human. This is too much,” he told the DFO over phone. “Enter the Bhanragada forests with more forces and trace out the creatures, they might be hiding in some holes,” he told the official.
A visibly shaken Giridhar Swain and his wife Sabitri said, “We heard some noise in the sheep-shed around midnight. We rushed out of our home with a torch light and saw the sight of a sheep having been badly attacked and its liver pulled out. When we screamed for help, some mysterious creatures inside the shed ran away. We chased them, but they disappeared into the darkness.”
Swain said the creatures were about one to two feet high and four feet long. “While two creatures were black, one was brown. We could vaguely see them, and the faces were not clearly visible, adding to the mystery,” Swain said.
Nisamani Dei (65) of Nakatasahi said, “I heard some noise in the sheep shed late at night and saw two black-coloured creatures there. As I screamed for help, they came out of the shed one after another and fled. Some villagers chased the creatures, but they failed to catch them.”
Angered over the failure of the local administration to put an end to this menace, people staged a road blockade at Amanakud Square on Niali-Phulnakhara road from 7am. They burned tyres and kept the carcasses on the road, demanding that those who lost their sheep be compensated. Traffic along the route stopped for quite some time as a result of the protest.
Officials stepped in and restored order. Niali inspector-in-charge Gajendra Behera, Balipatna inspector-in-charge Rabindra Jena and Niali BDO Sayed Arif Hussein held discussions with the agitators. They promised compensation, identification of the mysterious creatures, and an early end to the people’s ordeal. Following this, the agitation was called off.
Meanwhile, in a swift response, veterinarian Shasank Sekhar Mohanty and other staff of Niali veterinary hospital reached the villages and treated the injured sheep.
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