leopards keep people in State scared

A day after a leopard had entered a home in Khark Bhedi village, another leopard entered the Khuret village near Chamba on Thursday morning from where it was trapped and rescued by department officials after several attempts that lasted for five hours.The leopard was first spotted in the courtyard of Khuret resident, Dhan Singh whose family locked themselves in a room on seeing the leopard. 

The leopard then went towards another home with the residents locking themselves in on hearing the big cat. The leopard moved around in the bathrooms, kitchens and courtyards of people before moving off towards a ravine.  The alarm was then raised and villagers gathered after which the village watchman informed the Forest Department and police. 

Chamba police station in-charge Devendra Singh Chauhan and forester Satpal Chauhan reached the site. According to the villagers, the leopard continued to move around for about five hours. It then entered Dhan Singh’s bathroom after which a local Jitendra locked the bathroom door from outside trapping the leopard. The Forest Department transported the leopard in a cage to the range office. 

According to the forester, the leopard aged about nine years will be released in the jungles near Rishikesh. According to the villagers, the Forest Department was lacking resources to take necessary action on time. It was the courage of villager Jitendra who locked the leopard in a bathroom, which prevented the situation from escalating. The captured big cat is reported to have injuries on its eye and a limb which the department officials have not been able to explain.