Bahraich: An elderly couple was killed in a suspected wolf attack in the midnight hours between Monday and Tuesday in Majhra Taukli village under Kaiserganj tehsil here, forest officials said.

The victims, Khedan and his wife Mankiya, both around 60 years of age, were sleeping in a hut in a field away from their home when the attack occurred, Regional Forest Officer Ram Singh Yadav told PTI.

Their mutilated bodies were found in the hut on Tuesday morning. Police, administration and forest department officials are at the site, and efforts are ongoing to rescue the wild animal, he said.

Authorities said the wild animal “may be eliminated” if rescue fails. Following the incident, irate villagers damaged a forest department vehicle that had arrived at the scene. Villagers said Khedan used the hut to guard his crops while his wife had stayed back late after giving him food.

Their son discovered the bodies on Tuesday morning. Locals also said that the abdomens of both victims were torn and their hands were missing.

The villagers also said the same wild animal injured three other people the previous night.

Violent wolf attacks in around a dozen villages across Kaiserganj and Mahsi tehsils have killed six people, including four children, and injured nearly 20 others since September 9. One of the child victims’ bodies has not been recovered. Most attacks occurred in Majhra Taukli and the surrounding hamlets.