Seven jackals kill, `feed on' nine-year-old child in Murshidabad

HOSSAIN, TT, 25 June 2019, Farakka: A nine-year-old boy was suspected to have been killed by jackals in Murshidabad's Farakka on Sunday night, the horror brought to light by a neighbour who saw the child's "half-eaten body" being dragged by the pack of seven.

Forest officials and villagers said Zeeshan Sheikh had been picking grass to feed the family's goats in Gopalnagar village when the jackals pounced on him.

Although jackals have been known to attack people, it is rare for them to prey on humans, one forest official said, adding the pack could have been desperate out of hunger.

"We are in shock. We always knew that poultry and small animals are at danger but we never knew that jackals could eat up a boy," said a neighbour of the family.

The incident came to light at around 7pm, when Rafiq, a village youth, spotted the halfeaten body of Zeeshan being dragged by a pack of jackals, barely 300metres from the village.

"I ran screaming with a hammer but it was too late. I am surprised that we did not hear him screaming. By the time I reached, his abdomen and throat had been ripped apart, half-eaten flesh and internal organs were lying around," he said.

Villagers -- including Zeeshan's family members -- were alerted by Rafiq's cries and they arrived at the spot to find Zeeshan in a virtually unrecognisable condition.

"My nephew was dead. I could not bear to see it," said Ismail Sheikh, Zeeshan's uncle.

Spreading news of the incident caused panic among villagers in Gopalnagar late on Sunday night, where forest officials and villagers alike agreed that they had never heard of a jackal preying on a human being.

"I am not going to allow my children outside after dark," said a villager. Village elders said that they would start a patrolling group to prevent such incidents from taking place in the future.

Forest officials in Murshidabad said that they had received news of a herd of wild jackals from Jharkhand roaming the Farakka area a few months ago and were still trying to trace the group.

"This is an unusual case. It could be that the jackals grew extremely hungry and decided to hunt in a group. It is also possible that they had never encountered human habitation," said Farakka forest official Prabhas Mondal..