The people in Ekeshwar block are living in fear of a leopard with a second human being killed by the big cat this year on Tuesday. They are demanding that this big cat be declared a man-eater and shot after it killed a teenager on Tuesday.
The big cat killed a 13 year old boy on Tuesday evening in Khandora village of Ekeshwar block when the boy had gone out to the courtyard to wash his hands after a meal. The people of the village and adjoining areas are living in terror of this leopard and have demanded that it be declared a man eater and shot without delay by hunters authorised by the forest department.
The Garhwal Divisional Forest Officer Raj Mani Pandey said that a request to declare the big cat a man-eater had been sent to the Chief Wildlife Warden on Tuesday. He added that precautionary measures had been taken and a forest department team had been deployed in the area.
With Wednesday being the day of polling in Uttarakhand for the parliamentary polls, the response from the chief wildlife warden’s office is expected on Thursday. As soon as the leopard is declared a man eater, hunters will be deployed in the area, added the DFO.
The boy killed on Tuesday is the second human killed by a leopard in this region. According to official sources, teenager Vikas Dashmana of Khandora village was washing his hands at a tap outside his home at about 8:30 PM when he was attacked by the leopard. The big cat dragged the boy about 200 metres away from where his partially eaten body was later recovered by family members and villagers.