Karnau (Mathura), 2016.04.05 (TOI): Four villagers were injured in Karnau village of Mathura district [near Mahavan in Baldeo tehsil] on Monday when a leopard, who strayed into the village, attacked them in two separate incidents.
According to information while the first incident took place at about 6 am when a villager Satish Chandra was attacked in his fields, the second occurred at about 3 PM when forest officials, accompanied by the villagers, were searching for the leopard in thickets around the village.
An injured Satish told TOI that he was cultivating his fields, which are located just 100 meters away from his home, when the leopard attacked him. “It came out from nowhere and pounced on me,” he said adding that another villager, Rajesh, rushed to his help and scared the animal away.
He said even Rajesh was attacked and injured by the fleeing leopard. Satish said they immediately informed the police and the forest department about the incident. Both Satish and Rajesh sustained injuries on their forearms and face.
A five-member team from Agra also reached the spot and carried out searches for the leopard. According to officials the leopard was again sighted at about 3 PM and when chased it attacked, injuring two villagers, Jitendra, and Dharamveer of Nandu Gadhi Village.
Following the second attack, the villagers literally held the forest team hostage for a few hours, accusing them of doing nothing to catch the animal.
When contacted District Forest Officer (DFO), Mathura, Sanjeev Sharma, said his team was trying to capture the leopard by tranquilizing it but the efforts were being hampered by the presence of a large crowd of villagers.
He said he had contacted the district magistrate to provide protection of the forest department’s team and also for deployment of additional police force to keep onlookers at bay. He said he was hopeful that the animal would be captured soon.
Incidentally, this isn’t the first time when a leopard attack has been reported from the heavily populated areas of Mathura district. In Feb 2014, a leopard had attacked and injured six people and it was also sighted at the IOC refinery in Mathura.
In 2010, a tiger had reportedly entered a Mathura village and had attacked and injured some people. Forest officials say these animals stray from wildlife sanctuary or forests in Rajasthan and enter villages here.
The post Four injured in leopard attack in Mathura district appeared first on Vrindavan Today.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
