In Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh, 40-year-old woman killed by leopard

This is not the first incident of a leopard attack in the state. On October 11, a 7-year-old girl was killed by a leopard in Tehri Garhwal district when she had gone to use the washroom outside her house. This was the fifth case of a child being killed by a leopard in the past one month.

In yet another incident of leopard attack, a 40-year-old woman was mauled to death by a leopard in Pithoragarh district on Wednesday evening when she had gone to the forests to cut grass.

A woman was mauled to death by a leopard in Pithoragarh district on Wednesday evening when she had gone to the forest to cut grass. (Image used for representation). (HT FILE PHOTO.)

Vinay Bhargav, divisional forest officer of Pithoragarh division said the incident happened around 4 pm on Wednesday in Papdeo Van Panchayat area.

“When the woman had gone to cut grass in the forests, she was mauled by the leopard and the animal further dragged her around 50 metres into dense bushes. Upon hearing her scream, other women who had accompanied her reached the site by tracing the blood trail, but the woman had died by then,” Bhargav said.

The body was recovered by local forest staff and sent to the district hospital for a post-mortem examination.

“As the incident happened inside a forest area, it prima facie appears to be a result of confrontation and panic attack,” said the forest official.

On September 24, an 11-year-old girl was killed in a leopard attack in Pithoragarh district when she was working near her house and collecting fodder. On September 19, a 7-year-old girl was mauled to death by a leopard when she was playing near her house in Almora district. On September 22, a 40-year-old man was also killed by a leopard in the Pithoragarh district.