Shimla: A 5-year-old girl was killed by a leopard near the city of Shimla, according to a senior forest official.
Leopard has taken the young man, named Priyanka, Putri Bihar Manoj, from outside the residence while near the construction site in the Kanlog neighborhood to the nearest forest area at 8:30 a.m., according to the Shimla Division (Wildlife) forest officer Krisa Krishan.
DFO told PTI that his skull was found on Friday morning near Nullah around 200-250 meters from where he was taken away.
Locals told the police as soon as the girl was taken away by big cats.
Kumar said the forestry department was told about the incident by the police around 10:30 a.m.
on Thursday and the forest team reached the place within 20-25 minutes.
Joint search operations were carried out by the police and the Ministry of Forestry, he added.
Some blood spots were considered during the search operation where clear that the animal had killed the girl, he added.
Search operations continued until 2am on Friday but nothing was found because it was really dark in the area, he said, adding that the operation must be suspended.
Furthermore, the search operation to track the girl was continued in the early hours on Friday and the skull was found near Nullah, he added.
The girl’s skull was taken by the forensic team to determine whether the skull was her or not by matching DNA with family members, DFO added.
Forensic reports can also reveal animals that kill the girl and whether it is one or more in the amount, he added.
The compensation of RS 4 Lakh will be given to the girl’s family by the Ministry of Wildlife according to its policy, said DFO.
Meanwhile, panic gripping the residents of the Kanlog and the nearest area in the city after the incident.
DFO says the four-five trap of the camera and two cages will be installed at night in a suitable place in and around the canlog to capture leopards.
The camera trap will take photos of animals from where it will be clear whether it’s a leopard or other animal and whether it’s one or more.
The size of animals will also be captured in a camera trap that will help in arresting it, he added.
This is not the first incident of Leopard’s attack at Shimla City.
In a similar incident on June 21, a young man suffered injuries when he went outside his home in the Krishna Nagar area to answer natural calls in the early hours.
Somehow, he had managed to lock the leopard in the bathroom itself.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Forestry captured the leopard after calming him.
Leopard had previously been seen several times on the Kanlog, Sanjuli, Khalini, Dhalli, Vikas Nagar and five regional benches in the city of Shimla at night and it was also arrested on a CCTV camera on several occasions that became viral on social media.
DFO said, “People must contact the department of wildlife in the toll-free assistance channel 1800-419-4575 such as and when they see leopards or other dangerous wild animals.” Remind the public to protect themselves from all possible leopard attacks, DFO say big cats usually come to various regions to prey dogs at night.
Residents with dogs must keep their pets in cages, especially at night, and wild dogs must be removed from the area with the help of Shimla Municipal Corporation, he added.
Furthermore, some people have built their bathroom outside their home and when they came out to attend nature calls at night, the leopard attacked them considered them as a prey for darkness, he said.
Kumar advised the community to make lighting settings right around their homes to avoid leopard attacks.