Garhwal Post Bureau
Pauri Garhwal, 3 Apr: Leopard attacks persist unabated in Pauri Garhwal district, casting a pall of fear and insecurity over rural pockets. In yet another gut-wrenching episode late last night, a four-year-old girl fell victim to a leopard in Bhatkot village under Chaubattakhal tehsil’s Kunjkhali area in Gaadri gram sabha. The child, Drishti, daughter of Harendra Singh, was playing in the courtyard after dinner at around 9 p.m. when the lurking predator pounced, clamped her in its jaws and dragged her towards the fields below. Family members raised frantic cries, drawing other villagers who joined the desperate search through the night.
Some locals claimed that the girl was sitting with her father Harendra Singh, mother Savita Devi and her elder sister Deepanshi in the kitchen around 9 p.m. when the leopard attacked her and dragged her to the forest while some others claimed that Drishti was playing in her courtyard when the leopard attacked her. The leopard seized the girl suddenly and bolted towards the jungle. Despite exhaustive efforts, her mutilated body was found about two-and-a-half kilometres away in a stream after an intensive search by the villagers, sending waves of grief through the village. The incident site was promptly notified to forest and revenue officials. The locals are outraged over the recurring strikes by the predator.
It may also be recalled that earlier on 21 March, a leopard had attacked and injured an elderly man in Khirsu. The villagers lament that leopards now roam brazenly near homes, singling out children and rendering village life perilous. Anguish mounts against the forest department, with incessant demands for decisive intervention. The Bhatkot residents have demanded that the leopard be proclaimed a man-eater and eliminated swiftly to avert future horrors and safeguard lives. The villagers have lambasted the administration, highlighting the leopard’s prolonged rampage targeting children and women without tangible action.
Meanwhile, DFO Pauri Mahatim Yadav claimed that the forest teams arrived at the scene immediately after the alert. Patrols stand reinforced across the area, with traps deployed and a specialised squad constituted to nab the beast. He has urged the local villagers to stay calm near the site, warning that the leopard could return to its prey. The episode has once again starkly exposed the intensifying human-wildlife conflict in Uttarakhand’s mountainous hamlets, where such clashes have turned everyday existence into a nightmare.
