Leopard kills teen in Alipurduar tea estate

JALPAIGURI: A leopard attacked a 13-year-old boy at Ramjhora tea estate in Alipurduar’s Birpara and ate portions of his body before the boy’s parents could trace his body in an adjoining tea estate. According to police, several parts of the boy’s body were missing when it was retrieved from the bushes.
The incident took place on Sunday, but the mutilated body of Raman Tiwari was found inside the adjacent Tulsipara tea estate only on Tuesday morning.
On Sunday, Tiwari had gone had gone to take bath in a stream inside the tea garden. When he did not return by evening, his parents lodged a complaint at Birpara police station.
The last such incident was reported from Rajabhat tea estate in Alipurduar's Kalchini in 2016 when a seven-year-old was attacked by a leopard. Leopards are found in abundance in the tea gardens as bushes provide natural cover and the heap of leaves in the drains inside the gardens act as natural cushion for the cats.