Panic gripped local residents in Gobindapur-Majhpara village in Nadia’s Tehatta after a jackal attacked at least seven persons during the early hours of Thursday.

Most of the victims were farmers who fell prey to the jackal while working in the field. Angry villagers later trapped a suspected jackal after combing nearby fields and bushes in the afternoon and beat it to death.

However, it could not be immediately ascertained whether the jackal killed by the villagers was the same that attacked them.Out of the seven injured persons, five were released after primary treatment and two were admitted to the hospital with critical injuries.

Forest officials recovered the body of the jackal and sent it for post-mortem to the local veterinary hospital. The animal was identified as a common Asiatic jackal.

“It appears to be very unusual behaviour of the jackal. So we will examine if the animal was suffering from any disease like rabies or other problems,” a forest official in Nadia said.

He added that it might have also given birth to babies that could have led to the attack.Local sources said the jackal had first attacked farmers working in the fields and later entered residential areas where it was chased by people and it attacked them in retaliation.

“It was early hours in the morning. The jackal attacked us before we could realise anything”, said Saddam Khan, an injured farmer.

An officer in the state wildlife department said: “Some Asiatic jackals sometimes behave like wolves. But, that is quite unusual.” “It is unfortunate that the villagers killed the jackal. We will make an inquiry into the matter and take further action on the incident,” Pradip Ghosh, a forest official in Tehatta said.