Bhopal, May 27 In a tragic incident in Surru village, located in the Malthon police station area of Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district, a swarm of bees attacked a gathering, resulting in the death of an elderly man and injuries to several others.
On Monday, a 60-year-old victim and his family had assembled under a tree to perform religious rituals.
After completing the ceremony, they began cooking food using cow dung cakes. The smoke from the burning cakes disturbed a hive of bees in the tree above, prompting a sudden and aggressive attack on the group.
Unfortunately, the elderly person succumbed to the stings, while others sustained injuries.
The tragic event occurred at the sacred site of Havaldar Baba, situated along the banks of the Naren River near Surru village, police said.
It is a place where Bharat Singh Lodhi's family, residents of the village, gather every year for religious observances.
Speaking to IANS, Anoop Yadav, an officer from Malthon police station, explained that the Lodhi family had been performing their annual rituals when the rising smoke from their cooking disrupted the bees, causing them to attack in frenzy.
The police officer said firstly the victim was taken to the nearby Khimlasa hospital, but doctors asked the family members to take him to a government hospital in Bina, where he died during treatment.
He also said a post-mortem will be performed in Bina, and then an investigation will begin at the local level.
The police officer said his identity was yet to be ascertained, but he was an elderly person.
This incident bears a haunting resemblance to another deadly bee attack that took place in February in Gura village, located within Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district. In that case, a swarm of bees launched a vicious assault on villagers in the Beohari police station area, about 75 km north of Shahdol’s district headquarters.
That tragedy occurred when a villager, 75-year-old Premlal Kol, was conducting a ‘havan’ -- a sacred Hindu fire ritual involving offerings such as grains, ghee, and incense -- after returning from the recently concluded Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
The thick smoke emanating from the ritual apparently agitated the bees, triggering their aggressive response. Premlal, due to his advanced age, was unable to escape the furious swarm and succumbed to the stings before receiving medical attention.
Authorities continue to investigate the exact cause of the bees' agitation.
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