In a tragedy that unfolded in Raichur district of Karnataka, a 10-year-old boy was killed and devoured by a crocodile as he went near the Krishna river’s shore to drink water on Wednesday afternoon. While the incident took place on Wednesday, the boy’s torso was only found at the spot on Thursday, reported the Times of India. The victim has been identified as Mallikarjun R, who was herding cattle along with others in D Rapura village. The report said that as schools across the state remain shut due to the pandemic, the children were being made to herd cattle for long hours.
As the crocodile grabbed Mallikarjun away, the other children who were with him called for help, but it was too late. Even before the police arrived, locals tried to look for him in their coracles. Police have registered a case in Yapaldinni Police Station.
The TOI report quoted one local, MD Rafi, who said that a part of the river near the village has six crocodiles and usually the children do not go near the river, except for drinking water. He added that the low water levels at this time of the year made it easy for the animal to take the child away. Although rare, humans being attacked by crocodiles are not unheard of in the state.
In December, 2018 a similar incident of a crocodile pulling a man into the water from the shore was reported. That time fortunately, the man in Karantaka’s Uttara Kannada district’s Dandeli had survived the mishap. Nagesh Eshwar Ballarie was attacked by a crocodile at Kali river when he had gone to the river with his wife and son.