Kendrapara, Feb. 19: Angry villagers allegedly hacked a wild boar to death today. This comes a week after the animal had created a reign of terror in the suburbs of the town by killing one person and injuring seven.

"The body of the rogue male boar was recovered from Chakroda village, and it bore multiple injury marks. The animal had strayed into the villages from the forest area close to the Lalitgiri Buddhist monastery," said officer of the Cuttack territorial forest division Ashok Jena.

The body of the boar is being sent for post-mortem to ascertain the exact cause of death, the official said.

The local administration had earlier clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 within a 500-metre radius of Chakroda gram panchayat office while it was found hiding in the bushes. Forest personnel had cordoned off the area and planned to put the animal under sedation by using tranquillising bullets. Local forest officials had also made an official request with the higher-ups to proclaim it as a rogue animal, so that it could be shot dead for safety, said an official.

The wild boar had killed a man and injured at least seven other persons after it had strayed into Hatabanpur, Chakroda and adjoining villages since February 13. Panic struck the areas after the animal had frequently been sighted at various spots.

Four forest personnel were injured yesterday when a mob went on rampage and attacked the officials at Chakroda village to protest against the wild boar menace at the nearby villages. Police have registered cases against 30 villagers on charges of assaulting the forest officials.

The animal had been playing hide and seek since the past one week. The forest officials were not in favour the killing the animal. Besides, it would be an offence under the wildlife law to kill the boar, since it had not been proclaimed as a rogue animal. Caging the animal with the use of a net was also a Herculean task. Taming the animal by the use of tranquillising bullets was the sole option left with the forest authorities.