Guwahati, May 21 NNN : Venomous raids are underway in the Maoists hub of Assam these days.
\nReports said so far as many as six villages have already been attacked by poisonous spiders in eastern Assam\u2019s Sadiya area bordering Arunachal Pradesh with a species of unknown spiders believed to have found their way in from adjoining Myanmar. Sources said that these spiders normally attack villagers at night since May 8.
\nAcording to the reports received, a person identified as one Purnakanta Buragohain died from spider bites while at least 20 others are under treatment in Sadiya Civil Hospital.
\n Sadiya, 510km east of Guwahati, is considered the hub of Maoism in Assam. Earlier this month, police commandos killed four armed Maoists in an encounter.
\n \u201cVenomous spiders were not known to have been found in these areas, but then the world of wildlife is constantly throwing up surprises,\u201d said Tinsukia deputy commissioner SS Meenakshi Sundaram. He added that civil SDO Kishore Talukdar has been deputed to investigate.
\n According to health joint director PC Bhuyan, doctors have attributed Buragohain\u2019s death to shock and allergic reaction to spider bites. \u201cThe health of the others is being monitored,\u201d he said.
\n Villagers blamed the invasion of \u2018alien\u2019 arachnids to some kind of cosmic curse. \u201cWe have never before seen dark-coloured spiders swoop down in large numbers and at night,\u201d said Pradip Chiring.
\n Entomologists said the description of the spiders fit the black or brown widow species belonging to the Latrodectus genus. \u201cThe deadly tarantula is found while the wolf spider and the funnel web spider are known to inject considerable doses of poison, though not fatal for humans.
\nThese spiders are closer
\nto the black or brown widows,\u201d said an insect specialist.<\/p>\n
The Sadiya \u2018web-spinning terrorists\u2019, he added, could be the Latrodectus elegans variety of brown spiders
\nfound in contiguous areas of Myanmar, China and Thailand. This spider has strong neurotoxic venom
\nknown to be fatal for children. <\/p>\n\n