11-year-old Uttarakhand girl mauled while saving 4-yr-old brother from leopard

Pauri district magistrate Rakhi’s name has been recommended for the national bravery award.

Updated on: Jul 8, 2020, 22:35:48 IST

Hindustan Times, Dehradun | By Neeraj Santoshi

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Eleven year old Rakhi from Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal district is battling for her life at a hospital in Delhi after she wrestled with a leopard which attacked her four year old brother Raghav on October 4. Following her brave act, now the state government has decided to recommend her name for bravery award to Central government

Rakhi, who was mauled by the leopard who attacked her 4-yr-old brother, is being treated for her injuries in a Delhi hospital. (HT Photo)

Dhiraj Singh Garbyal, district magistrate (DM) Pauri said while Rakhi and her brother were returning home from their farm in the evening in Devkundai village, a leopard attacked them.

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“She immediately covered her brother Raghav’s body, using her own body as a shield. The leopard kept attacking her from behind but she didn’t leave her brother. Finally when her mother shouted continuously, the leopard left. Rakhi received severe injuries on her head and arms. She was rushed to a hospital in Kotdwar from where she has been referred to Delhi for treatment”, he said.

Garbyal said for her brave act, the district administration will recommend her name for the national bravery award. “First we will recommend and then the state government will send the recommendation to the Central government”, he said.

Satpal Mahraj, state tourism minister and local MLA said when he came to know about the brave act of the girl and her serious condition, he immediately got in touch with the family and got her admitted at Rammanohar Lohiya Hospital in Delhi on Monday.

“I also gave Rs 1 lakh from my salary to her family for her treatment. I will also visit her in Delhi soon”, he said

Satpal Mahraj said during Navratri celebrations, a girl of Garhwal has shown that when it comes to her loved ones, she can go to any length, even fight with a leopard to protect them.

“She has shown the true spirit of Durga Ma. For her bravery, the state government will recommend her name for national bravery award to Central government soon”, he said.

Well-known hunter Joy Hukil said Rakhi is a brave girl who had shown exemplary courage in front of such a ferocious animal. “Leopards attack young kids as they are soft targets, easy to drag and can hardly defend themselves. But in this case, somehow this brave girl managed to save her four year old brother, who would have been otherwise killed had leopard managed to drag him away”

Man-leopard conflict is on rise in the Himalayan state. The leopards have been regularly targeting children in the evenings when they are playing near their houses. Just recently on October 5, a 12-year-old girl was killed by a leopard in Pauri Garhwal district while she was playing near her home. Many leopards turn maneater and are killed by the hunters engaged by the state forest department.

This week two ‘maneater’ leopards were killed in Uttarakhand. On Sunday night, a ‘maneater’ leopard that had killed two children in Pauri was killed by hunter Azhar Khan, who works with team of hunters led by hunter Joy Hukil. On October 5, another ‘maneater’ leopard that created terror in some areas of Pithoragarh district was killed by Joy Mukil. The leopard had killed a woman in Pithoragarh’s Papdeo village on September 3.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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