Indore, Jun 5 (PTI) Congress MLA Bala Bachchan on Thursday claimed six villagers have died in Madhya Pradesh's Barwani district due to lack of timely medical treatment after a wild animal attack.
He also dismissed the forest department's claim that a jackal attacked 17 persons in Limbai village and surrounding areas of Barwani district on May 5 while they were sleeping outside their homes due to the hot weather.
As per officials, the six possibly died of rabies between May 23 and June 2, even though the health department claimed all 17 villagers attacked by the animal were given anti-rabies injections.
Limbai village falls in the tribal-dominated Rajpur constituency in Barwani, which Bachchan represents in the assembly. He has also served as the MP's home minister.
"Six people have died due to the state government's failure to provide timely and proper treatment after an animal attack. We demand a high-level inquiry into this matter. The forest department's claim of a jackal attacking villagers is absolutely false. Eyewitnesses have said the animal resembled a hyena," Bachchan told reporters in Indore.
A compensation of Rs 1 crore and a government job should be given the kin of the six who have died, he added.
The state government has provided Rs 8 lakh each as compensation to the families of the six people killed in the animal attack.
During a search operation launched after the deaths of six villagers, the forest department found the carcass of a jackal in a dry well on Wednesday. The department then claimed this jackal had attacked villagers and was later killed by locals.
Officials said tissue samples from the brains of two people who died after the animal bite have been sent to different laboratories in Pune and Delhi to determine if they were infected with the rabies virus.