A sudden honeybee attack during the traditional Jawara Visarjan ritual left more than 20 people injured in Rajoda village of Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district on Tuesday, according to IANS. Eleven of the injured have been admitted to the district hospital for treatment, and their condition is being monitored.

The incident occurred around 9 a.m. when villagers had gathered near a well for the immersion of Jawara. According to the report, five to six people jumped into the well to bathe, and water splashes from the bathers reached a large beehive located on a peepal tree just above the well, agitating the bees.

The swarm then descended on the people present, and panic spread as villagers scrambled to escape, many suffering multiple stings on their heads, hands and other parts of the body. According to police sources cited in the report, people fled in all directions, some running nearly two kilometres, and tried to fend off the bees using neem branches and their hands.

Local people said that after the initial attack they covered themselves with nets and remained under them for about 15 minutes while the bees continued to hover overhead, and only emerged after the swarm dispersed.

The report also recalled a related recent incident in the Sonkatch area of Dewas district, where bees attacked devotees during an idol immersion ceremony in Agera village, injuring around 25 people, of whom approximately 13 required hospitalisation. Authorities and medical staff in Dewas are attending to the injured from the Rajoda attack, and villagers have been advised to exercise caution around known beehives during future community events.

Sources: IANS; The Nation Mirror.