Leopard attacks villagers, 4 hurt

Bipin Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Raipur Rani (Panchkula), December 2

Four villagers were injured, two of them seriously, after being attacked by a leopard that had strayed into the fields of Badona village here this morning.

The incident occurred when the villagers chased the big cat that had taken refuge in a tubewell unit on the outskirts of the village.

The leopard attack spread panic among the villagers, forcing officials of the Haryana Wildlife Department to lay traps to catch the beast.

On their way to the fields, Haripal Rana and his friend noticed pugmarks of the big cat this morning. As they moved ahead, the animal's growl horrified them, following which the duo returned to the village.

Haripal informed the villagers and wildlife officials about the presence of the leopard in the fields.

In the meantime, Randhir, alias Pappy, a resident of Badona Khurd village, and his servant were attacked by the leopard at their tubewell.

The leopard attacked the servant on his arm. The servant, who was unaware about the leopard's presence inside the tubewell unit, put his arm inside a window to take out the keys and was attacked by the animal, said Randhir Singh.

As the injured raised the alarm, villagers, holding batons, sticks and other arms, rushed to the spot and chased the leopard. Noticing the mob, the furious cat attacked Randhir, Deepu, Sanjay and Sonu, causing them injuries on their face, head, arms and legs. After the attack, the leopard managed to escape from the area.

The injured were taken to the local Community Health Centre from where they were referred to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh, said Haripal.

Dr Amrinder Kaur, Chief Wildlife Warden, Haryana, visited the site this evening to take stock of the situation and interacted with the villagers.