Korba, March 2 A 26-year-old man was attacked and killed by a bear in the Korba district of Chhattisgarh, a forest official said on Monday.
The body of Santosh Kumar Gond, a resident of Salaigot village in the Kendai range of the Katghora forest division, was found in the nearby forest in the early hours of the day, the official said.
Gond had gone to the forest to graze his goats on Sunday, but while the livestock returned home, he did not, raising concerns among his family members, he said.
The official stated that the family alerted villagers and informed the forest department, and after several hours of searching the forest, the team recovered the body around 1:30 am.
According to officials, the paw prints found near the body indicated that a bear may have attacked the victim.
Katghora Divisional Forest Officer Kumar Nishant said that an immediate relief of Rs 25,000 has been provided to the victim's family as per norms, and an additional compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh will be disbursed after the completion of formalities.
The forest department has urged villagers to exercise caution and avoid venturing into the forest alone.