Bahraich , A 35-year-old woman was killed after a leopard attacked her in the Sujauli range of the Katarniaghat Wildlife Division here, a forest official said on Friday.
The spot is around 2 km from the nearest forest, the officer said, adding that a forest department team has reached the area. Earlier this month, an 86-year-old woman was killed in a leopard attack in Sujauli while a youth was injured in another such incident. Police are taking the body into custody and sending it for post-mortem examination. Elephant patrols had also been carried out to keep large carnivores away from human settlements. The incident comes amid several reports of leopard attacks in the area in recent days. Several leopards have also been safely captured in different parts of Bahraich in recent days.
“The incident took place around 6 pm on Thursday when Mamta, wife of Rajendra and a resident of Gaderian Purwa in Sujauli village, was working in a field near her house,” Divisional Forest Officer Apurva Dixit said. “The leopard emerged from the sugarcane field and attacked the woman, resulting in her death,” he said. Dixit said two wildlife awareness campaigns were conducted by the forest department in the Sujauli area a few days before the incident. “Two camera traps were installed around 100-200 metres from the spot just minutes before the attack,” he added.
Mamta’s husband, who was in Rajasthan, reached Bahraich on Friday morning.
Surveillance and rescue operations have consequently been intensified in such areas. Local shopkeeper Yusuf photographed the leopard while hiding and alerted people nearby. When residents raised an alarm, the leopard left the hut and moved towards the fields. Passersby stopped where they were and began moving back as the animals remained on the road. The tigress and her cubs later moved into the forest. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The movement of leopards into human-inhabited areas has increased following floods, according to the forest department. Residents living near the forest said they were alarmed by the increasing movement of wild animals in populated areas. People living near the forest said the frequent movement of wildlife has caused fear in the area. They said shopkeepers have been opening their shops late, after morning activity begins, and closing them early in the evening.
On Wednesday evening, a leopard was seen resting on an empty cot in the courtyard of a hut near a sand dump in Darogapurwa under the Motipur range of the Katarniaghat Wildlife Division, villagers said. On Thursday morning, a tigress and her three cubs were also seen walking along the Motipur-Sujauli road, leading to a temporary traffic halt.
