The state government has provided financial assistance to the family members of two villagers who were killed in wild boar attacks at Ghoksadanga in Cooch Behar district.

Asitabha Chatterjee, the divisional forest officer of Cooch Behar, along with other officers of the forest department, went to the victims’ houses and handed ₹5 lakh each to their relatives. The foresters also promised employment to one of the family members of the deceased.

“We have handed a cheque for ₹5 lakh each to the deceased’s family members. The department will also provide one of the family members with a job,” the DFO said after handing the cheques on Friday evening.

Dhiren Barman, 48, a resident of Ghoksadanga gram panchayat in Mathabhanga 2, was the first person to die in a wild boar attack on Tuesday evening while he was cutting grass for his cattle. He was rushed to the Ghoksadanga Block Primary Health Centre but declared dead on arrival.

Officials said the wild boar had been swept away by the floods on Sunday.

The body of Kashikanta Barman, 66, was recovered from a field at Velakopa in the same block on Wednesday. He had gone missing after setting out on Tuesday afternoon to search for his cows. His daughter, Anima Barman, discovered his body on Wednesday morning bearing clear signs of a wild boar attack.

“A search operation is underway to find the wild boar. We are providing maximum help to the families of the deceased. Surveillance and awareness will be increased to prevent such accidents from happening again in the future,” the DFO said.

The local residents complained that the wildlife infestation in rural areas has increased in the last few months. Especially after the recent floods, many people are living in extreme fear of wild boar attacks. They demand that the patrolling and alert activities of the forest department be further strengthened.

“We have appealed to the forest department to take necessary steps to prevent such animal raids in the village, so that nobody gets killed in future,” one of the villagers said.

Killed by rhino

Dilip Das died on Saturday after the 65-year-old resident of Pundibari in Cooch Behar district had been attacked by a rhino that had strayed into the locality on Friday.

After the attack, he was taken to a private hospital at Cooch Behar where he succumbed to the injuries.