The terror of ‘man-eater’ dogs returned to Begusarai district in Bihar, with one more woman falling prey to them and another being seriously injured.

The mongrels have killed at least nine women and injured many in recent months, with four of them losing their lives in the last month.

The latest victim was Geeta Devi, 60, a resident of Arva panchayat in Bachhwara block. She was attacked by a pack of around eight to 10 dogs on December 31 when she went to the agricultural fields to bring fodder for her cattle.

According to the villagers, the dogs tore away the flesh from Geeta’s arms, legs, belly and back.

A group of people rushed to the spot after hearing her screams. She was rescued and admitted to the district government hospital in Begusarai, where she breathed her last on January 1.

In another incident, dogs attacked 52-year-old Manju Devi of Rani panchayat in Bachhwara block on Sunday.

“She was badly injured, but rescued alive by the villagers, and has been admitted to Begusarai district hospital.

“She had gone to our farm for some work on Sunday morning. A group of dogs hiding among the crops of a nearby farm attacked her,” Manju’s husband Ram Pavitra Thakur told reporters.

The incidents of attacks by dogs have been occurring in the Bachhwara and Bhagwanpur blocks of the district.

The district administration had hired private shooters and shot dead 12 dogs on December 23 in an operation to eliminate them after realising that they had turned ‘man-eaters’ and were hunting human beings for food.

“We had eliminated a pack of dogs in our operation. We are now receiving information that there are one or two more such groups.

“We will conduct another operation to terminate them. The shooters have been called. We are hoping to conduct it later this week,” Teghra sub-divisional officer Rakesh Kumar, under whose jurisdiction the affected blocks come, told The Telegraph.

Rakesh added these are street or village dogs that stay in riverine or ‘taal’ or ‘chaur’ (shallow depression of land that becomes water-logged during monsoon).

“They used to eat dead cattle thrown in the area by the villagers and became accustomed to eating flesh. It seems they faced some scarcity of food and started attacking human beings.

“They have tasted human flesh and are frequently targeting people,” the subdivisional officer further said.