Man killed by wild boar and 9 injured in India

The boar which was shot dead with the help of residents. (Inset) Abdul Salam who was killed by the wild animal

A man died and nine others sustained injuries in a wild boar attack near Koodaranji here on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Keelath Abdul Salam, 50, alias Abdu, a farmer and a resident of Kalpur. The wild boar was later shot dead with the help of the local residents.

According to the police, the wild boar attacked Abdul Salam at his farm land, around 9 am. Though he was rushed to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, he succumbed to injuries, the officials said.

The injured - Haseena, Vasu, Lalitha, Kunjumon, Sabu, Abu, Najeed and Abdullah - have been admitted to the hospital and their condition has been reported to be not serious.

Eye-witnesses said the animal first attacked Haseena on a road and later went on the rampage, attacking Abdul Salam and others.

Later, the boar was shot dead. "We received a call informing us of a wild boar attack at Karassery, bordering Mukkam and Thiruvambadi panchayats. We rushed to the spot and the animal was shot dead by a local resident using his licensed gun, by around 11 am," said Thiruvambadi Sub-Inspector P E Kunhahammed Kutty.

Meanwhile, the forest officials with the Thamarassery range said the carcass of the boar was taken to the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookkode, Wayanad, for postmortem.

"In normal cases there is no need to conduct a postmortem after an animal is shot dead for causing human loss and damage. In this case, it is suspected that the wild boar was rabid. We do not want to take any chances and have decided to conduct the postmortem examination," the official added.

Sources said the next of kin of the deceased would be given Rs 5 lakh as compensation by the state government. Top police and forest department officials also visited the place.