The incident took place on Friday. (Representational)

Unidentified persons attempted to gouge out an eye of a Mahadalit woman in Bihar's Gaya district, inflicting severe damages to it in the process, the police said.

The incident took place in Hahesadi village on Friday.

"Unidentified persons tried to gouge out an eye of 60-year-old Mahadalit woman Dhanmatiya Devi, a resident of Hahesadi village, badly damaging it in the process," Dhangain police station senior police official Om Prakash Singh said on Saturday.

The woman was rushed to Barachatti Primary Health Centre where doctors, after administering initial medical aid, referred her to Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital in Gaya where she is undergoing treatment, he said.

The reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained, Mr Singh said, adding that efforts are on to arrest the accused.