Udaipur ‘man-eater’ claims 7th victim in 12 days, officials issue orders to kill leopard

According to officials, the leopard dragged the woman around 100 metres from her house. Her family members heard her screams and subsequently, local residents gathered and went into the forest looking for her.

When the search party approached, the leopard left the body and ran away. The woman, who had a deep wound on her neck, died on the spot.

A day earlier, a temple priest was killed by a leopard at a short distance from Tuesday’s attack.

Chief Wildlife Warden Pawan Kumar Upadhyay told The Indian Express that orders have been issued to shoot the leopard on sight.

“It has become difficult to catch the leopard, and the series of deaths shows that it has become a man-eater. Hence, we have decided to shoot the leopard,” he said.

He also said that Army personnel had been called in to shoot the leopard. “The police force and local villagers will also make their contribution. We are hoping that this problem will soon be resolved,” Upadhyay said.

In protest against the spate of killings from leopard attacks, local residents tried to block National Highway 27. However, after some persuasion from SP Yogesh Goyal, they dispersed, but refused to cremate the body of the woman who was killed Tuesday.

Forest officials have put up cages at six different places. Two cages were transported from Rajsamand district and two were newly built in the city to increase the chances of catching the leopard. Along with this, six cameras have been installed to keep an eye on the movement of the leopard.

The Army, forest officials, police officials, and locals are working together to catch the leopard, officials said. Locals are also using dhols – a traditional way to get the leopard out of its hiding place.