Leopard strikes again in Nuapada village

The incident comes over a month after the wild animal killed a four-year-old boy in Haldi village
Injured Danabai undergoing treatment I Express
Injured Danabai undergoing treatment I Express

NUAPADA: An elderly woman and her grand-daughter were injured in leopard attack in Haldi village under Dumerpani gram panchayat of Nuapada block on Sunday night. When locals rushed to the spot after the woman raised an alarm, the wild animal escaped into the nearby forest.

The incident comes over a month after the leopard had picked up a four-year-old child Chhaganlal Pandey from the village while he was sleeping and killed him.


According to reports, Danabai Pandey (60) and her grand-daughter Chandni (10) were sleeping in a room which was not locked from inside. At around 1 am, the animal tried to drag the child and one of its paw hit the left leg of Danabai. On seeing the leopard, Danabai raised an alarm which woke up her family members and they rushed out with lathis. In the commotion, the leopard escaped. Zilla Parishad member Munnalal Jagat, who resides in the village, said villagers searched for the leopard but could not trace it. The woman and her grand-daughter have been admitted to a local health centre.


DFO (Territorial), Khariar division Gadadhar Patra said pug marks of the leopard were found near Danabai’s house. Though they have been asking the villagers to keep the doors of their houses locked at night, the victim had just pushed the door shut which helped the leopard get inside. “We have been making all efforts to trap the leopard and intensified night patrolling but the animal manages to elude the trap,” he added.


On May 26 night, the leopard had picked up Chhaganlal and mauled the boy to death. Chhaganlal was the son of Ketki Pandey and Hiralal Pandey. Villagers recovered the boy’s head from the nearby forest and it is believed that the animal ate the torso. The incident took place when the boy’s family members were sleeping outside their house in the night. Ketki woke up at 2 am and found Chhaganlal missing. Hiralal and other villagers searched for him but in vain.

The search was resumed at the break of dawn and they stumbled upon the pants that the boy was wearing. They also found blood stains at two places. The villagers then found Chhaganlal’s mutilated head in Haldi reserve forest.The leopard was seen atop a hill near Haldi village a week after this incident. The hill is barely 80 metres from the village.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com