Assam woman injured in leopard attack, says she was trying to save her dogs

The woman said she woke up and stepped out after her dogs started barking incessantly at 5am on Monday

SILCHAR: A woman sustained injuries after she tried to stop a leopard from hurting her pet dogs outside her house in Assam’s Tinsukia district early on Monday, forest officials said, citing her statement.

Forest officials said the presence of leopards has been reported in the area in the past. (AFP File Photo/Representative Image)

Officials said the incident took place in the Rongagora Path area of Tinsukia.

The woman, identified as Dipti Das, said she woke up at about around 5am after her dogs started barking.

“When I came out, I saw the leopard trying to ambush my dogs. I immediately confronted the leopard and it attacked me,” Dipti said.

Das said she sustained bite injuries on her body including hand and neck.

“It was not a full grown leopard… It was a little larger than a dog, so I managed to fight without any weapon, otherwise, I would have died,” she said.

Her family took her to a government hospital in Tinsukia and the forest department was informed about it.

Local forest officials who visited the spot said they found footprints that were similar to leopards. “It definitely looks like a leopard attack and we are investigating the matter further,” an official said.

Officials said leopards have been reported in the area in the past.