Leopard kills boy in T Narasipura; second death in two days

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Mysuru: Tension prevailed in T.Narasipura town on Sunday after an 11-year-old boy was mauled by a leopard at Harohalli village in the taluk in Mysuru district.

This is the second incident of a leopard killing a villager in quick succession; just two days ago, the leopard had killed a 60-yearold lady who had gone to the field to bring firewood. Deputy Commissioner Dr. K V. Rajendra visited the taluk to review the situation. The Forest Department has renewed its operation with additional reinforcements to capture the big cat.

In the late hours of Sunday, the boy, identified as Sanjay, had gone out to attend nature’s call. However, when he didn’t return even after one hour, his parents panicked and went out in search of him. Later, they found the boy’s headless body. They were horrified and alerted other villagers who came and saw the mutilated body.

The leopard had severed and eaten the boy’s head. As the news spread like wildfire, hundreds of villagers gathered and resorted to a protest to protest against the failure of the department to capture the big cat which has claimed four lives so far. Sanjay was the fourth victim to be killed by the leopard.

Tension prevailed in the village and the police arranged for suitable security arrangements to prevent any untoward incident. The DC and senior police officers also visited the village to assuage the villagers and assured them of strict measures being taken to capture the leopard.

The forest department personnel along with sharpshooters have launched an operation to nab or even kill the leopard which has been respon- sible for four deaths so far.