Nearly 100 people injured by jackal

PATNA: Nearly 100 people have been bitten and injured by a jackal in Bihar's Gopalganj district, but there are no anti-rabies vaccines in the government hospitals to treat the patients.

In the last two days, the jackal has attacked and injured villagers - including women and children - in half a dozen villages under the Manjhagarh block of the district, about 200 km from here.

The injured are being treated at different hospitals in Gopalganj, the home district of union railway minister Lalu Prasad.

But the unavailability of anti-rabies vaccines has added to the problems of the patients.

"A mad jackal has created havoc among people in some villages. It has injured dozens in the last forty eight hours," a district administration official said.

Villagers are apprehending more attacks by the animal. Some have even moved away from their villages, police said.

Angry people shouted slogans in front of the government hospital in Gopalganj on Tuesday after a doctor informed them that anti-rabies vaccines were not available.

The state government has repeatedly claimed that anti-rabies vaccines were available in all government hospitals in Bihar.