Panic gripped residents of Notun Tarapur near Ranaghat in Nadia district after a jackal stormed a wedding venue on Friday night and bit at least seven people in repeated attacks that continued into the early hours of Saturday morning.

The animal’s sudden aggression, attacking indiscriminately, triggered chaos among wedding guests.

According to local sources, the first attack occurred around 9.45pm when guests were having dinner at the residence of Tumpa Mondal after her daughter’s wedding had just been solemnised. A jackal entered the makeshift pandal and bit a woman before lunging at others, including a child.

Although the guests were initially stunned, some managed to rally and drive the animal away. In its retreat, however, the jackal bit another guest when he was going to drop the priest at his home after the ceremony.

“We are quite familiar with jackals in the area. But the number of animals has suddenly increased alarmingly. Nevertheless, we had never seen the animal enter our homes or attack us before. Seeing the jackal in such an aggressive mood and biting indiscriminately, we all panicked. I had never seen a jackal act like this in our locality, even though we have always been on alert and often returned home early in the evening, fearing attacks,” said Tumpa Mondal.

In a second wave of aggression, believed to be by the same jackal, the animal returned to the village about five hours later and bit an elderly man who was sleeping on an open terrace. All the injured were taken to Jadav Dutta Rural Hospital in Ranaghat 1 block for treatment.

Residents of Tarapur-Masuda village in Ranaghat 1 block have been alarmed by what they describe as a sudden spike in jackal sightings and attacks. They claim that jackals, once confined to the edges of agricultural fields near the banks of the Hooghly river, are now venturing dangerously close to homes. Many have stopped sending children to school, fearing ambushes on the isolated village roads flanked by paddy fields.

“We are living in panic. Jackals are entering residences even in daylight and attacking people without any provocation. Even sending children to schools has become difficult as the jackals are often seen roaming on the village lanes during the day,” said Asmita Mondal, another resident.

In response, frightened villagers have started forming vigilante groups armed with bamboo poles to patrol the area, although many believe that more than one jackal may be involved.

Wildlife experts say the animals seen in the region are likely Asiatic jackals — also known as golden jackals — commonly found in Gangetic and riverine ecosystems. These jackals usually feed on fish, crabs and wild birds, and are protected under Schedule III of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972).

An official from the state wildlife department said, “Some Asiatic jackals sometimes behave like a wolf. But that is quite unusual. It behaves so generally because of any suffering from a disease or a physical problem. We guess that this is most probably a specific jackal that has been attacking people. We will send a team and try to find out.”

Although the local panchayat has alerted the wildlife department, no concrete steps have yet been taken to provide relief to the villagers.