Following the killing of a child in rural Dehradun, the Forest Department has deputed hunters to shoot the killer leopard. However, officials are not stating whether the big cat has been declared a man-eater, as required by the law. A 10-year old Fulsani resident Krishna was carried away by a leopard on Friday and the child’s partially eaten body was discovered in the woods on Saturday. The locals had staged a protest at the site for hours demanding extermination of the big cat. The department has now deployed four licensed hunters to identify and kill the big cat.
However, officials are reluctant to state whether the leopard has been declared a man-eater as required by law. The Dehradun divisional forest officer Sushant Patnaik said that whether the big cat has been declared a man-eater or not is being kept confidential at the moment. “It is evident that the big cat is a man eater. We have deputed hunters who will identify and kill the leopard following due procedure. However, the protest by locals on the weekend did disturb the big cat which seems to be avoiding the site now,” he said.
The Dehradun sub divisional officer Gulvir Singh said that a machan has been put up and four hunters are at the site attempting to track and kill the big cat. “Our staff has also stepped up vigil at the site. However, the leopard is not being sighted here as of now,” he added.