HAZARIBAG: When hundreds of women at Aluanja village under Ichak went to perform Bat Savitri puja on Saturday, they had little idea about the 'sting' operation.

But this time there were no hidden cameras. Instead, some hidden beehives were enough to drive away hundreds of villagers from near the banyan tree.

On Saturday evening, the women of Aluanja village went to a nearby banyan tree for Bat Savitri, where they had to tie threads on the branches and pray for their husbands' long life.

But as soon as the women lit the incenses, thousands of bees attacked them. Over 100 devotees are in serious condition.

According to onlookers, the smoke and smell of the incenses might have disturbed the bees.

This sudden attack created a pandemonium and worshippers ran to hide from the attack. Among those seriously injured, the priest of the temple was also there. Many injured persons also fainted because of the pain. All of them were admitted to the nearby block hospital.

Leena Priya, BDO-Ichak, on getting the information about the incident rushed to the village to assess the situation.

In another incident, more than a dozen women were injured in Katkumsandi on the same day when they were attacked by bees.

These days attack by bees in various parts of Hazaribag have become an worrying factor as about a fortnight ago 14 people, returning from cemetery, were injured when they were performing the rituals.

At that time, the villagers had approached district authorities and requested them to take measures to remove the beehives near the cemetery.

In the last few years several persons were killed in the Hearngunj locality of Hazaribag town when they were stung by bees.