Leopard kills 11-year-old, fourth case in 3 months: Officials
This is the second death by a leopard in the last four days and the fourth in three months. On Friday, a leopard killed Siddamma, a 60-year-old woman, in the backyard of her house.
Amid forest officials searching for a leopard that claimed the life of a 60-year-old woman in Kannayakanahalli on Friday, officials on Sunday said the animal killed an 11-year-old boy in Horanahalli in T Narasipura Taluk.
Forest officers said Jayanth, an 11-year-old boy from Horanahalli in T Narasipura, went for defecation in the open at around 8 pm on Friday and did not return. The villagers searched for the boy, but there was no trace.
“On Sunday morning, Jayanth’s half-eaten carcass was found near the village,” officers said.
The villagers staged a ‘Rasta Roko’ (block the road) protest and raised slogans against forest officials.
This is the second death by a leopard in the last four days and the fourth in three months. On Friday, a leopard killed Siddamma, a 60-year-old woman, in the backyard of her house.
Jayanth’s grandfather, Ajjayya Gowda, informed the reporters that the villagers had notified the forest officers of the leopard’s presence in the village a week ago, but no action was taken.
He expressed his anguish at the official’s negligence in the leopard claiming the life of villagers.
The increased leopard menace in T Narasipura Taluk has created panic among villagers.
“We launched a search operation to catch the leopard on Saturday itself. We’ve installed 20 trap cameras and put cages in five places,” Mysuru circle chief conservator of Forests, Dr Malathi Priya, told HT.
She said the leopards are taking shelter in sugarcane fields and attacking humans in the evening.
“The villagers have been instructed not to step out of their houses after 6 pm,” she added.
On Sunday, T Narasipura MLA, Ashwin Gowda, and DC Dr K V Rajendra visited the villagers and pacified them, assuring them the leopard will be captured at the earliest.
On October 31, 2022, Manjunath (20), a second-year student from Maharaja College, Mysuru, was killed by a leopard at Madgar Lingayyanahundi village.
He was returning home with his friends from Muddumaramma temple. Despite Manjunath’s friends raising an alarm, the leopard killed him before villagers rushed to the spot.
On December 2, 2022, Meghana (22) was killed by a leopard at S Kebbehundi village. The incident occurred at 6.30 pm when Meghana went to wash clothes in her backyard. Enraged villagers staged protests in front of T Narasipura Taluk hospital till late at night and refused to take the dead body. The villagers insisted district minister V Somannashould visit them and provide compensation of ₹50 lakh.
Forest officials soon launched a combing operation and, using thermal cameras, caught the leopard and sent it to the Bannerghatta Zoo.
