Six people have died in Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani district after being bitten by a mysterious animal. These people were attacked in their sleep in Limbai village. Even though they got anti-rabies treatment, they still died, which has caused fear and confusion in the village.

The attack happened between 1 am and 5 am, when 17 people in three different homes were bitten by the unknown animal. One woman was attacked while sweeping her courtyard. People have described the animal in different ways. Some said it looked like a dog, but others said it had uneven legs and a sloped back, similar to a hyena.

“There was no bark, no growl, just a shadow that bit and vanished,” said one survivor.

All 17 people received anti-rabies vaccines at hospitals in Barwani and Indore. But between May 23 and June 2, six of them – two women and four men between 40 and 60 years old – died. One of them, 40-year-old Sunil, left the hospital early and died while being taken to the district hospital. Another person, Chain Singh Umrao (50), died suddenly just hours after feeling better.

Medical experts confused, investigations continue

Doctors are confused about how the condition of these patients got worse so quickly. They are also surprised by the strange bite marks.

“The medical team that examined the 11 survivors said they've never seen such strange bite patterns. A team from Khandwa Medical College is conducting the medical audit. We're investigating all aspects,” said Barwani Collector Guncha Sanobar.

She said that the vaccines were given correctly and stored properly, but because of the unusual deaths, the vaccine samples are being sent to the National Drug Laboratory in Kasauli for testing. Also, brain and throat samples from the dead victims have been sent to a virology lab in Delhi.

“Only these reports can conclusively establish whether rabies, or something else, caused the deaths,” said a senior health official in Indore.

Animal still not found, villagers protest

So far, the forest department has not found the animal. “No pugmarks, no sightings, no physical clues,” said DAFO Ashish Bansod.

“The forest is just 4.5 km from the village, and we're working on leads provided by locals. People say it looked like a dog, but it moved differently,” he added.

Villagers are not happy with the search. On Monday, they walked 7 km and protested at the forest ranger’s office. “You can't catch an animal like this by driving on roads. Use drones and increase teams,” said Rakesh Jamre.

“There’s only a four-member team here, and they’ve found nothing. Even the health department became active only after the fifth death,” added Munna Jore.

People in the village also said that three domestic animals have died under mysterious conditions since the attack.

Collector Guncha Sanobar said that families of the dead will get Rs 8 lakh each as compensation from the forest department. “It is a tragic situation, but all recommended protocols were followed in administering the vaccines,” she said.

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