Garhwal Post Bureau
PAURI , 13 Sept: Leopard attacks in the district show no sign of abating. On August 23, a leopard in the Satpuli area had killed a young child and later injured another boy. Now once again, a leopard has struck in Shrikot, this time claiming the life of a four-year–old girl. The incident has triggered widespread panic in the village and anger against the Forest Department.
A tragic incident took place in Shrikot village under Pokhra Range of Pauri Garhwal district on Friday night when a leopard dragged away a four-year–old girl from her home. As soon as the incident came to light, the family and villagers searched throughout the night. After extensive efforts, the mutilated body of the child was recovered from nearby bushes, plunging the entire village into mourning.
Upon receiving information, Divisional Forest Officer Pauri, Jeevan Mohan, rushed to the spot with his team and met the grieving family. He said that the post-mortem and inquest proceedings of the girl’s body had been completed.
Considering the growing menace of leopards in the area, two cages are being installed and a tranquilising team is also being deployed. The Forest Department has assured that all possible measures will be taken with full alertness to prevent any untoward incident.
Reacting to the tragedy, former Pokhra Block Pramukh Surendra Singh Rawat said it was extremely unfortunate that a leopard entered the house, carried away an innocent child and made her its prey. He pointed out that such incidents have been on the rise in recent times, with leopards often seen taking children from near their homes. He demanded that the government take strict and concrete measures to curb these recurring incidents.
