Kota: Two elderly men were mauled by a panther in Rajasthan's Kota after which the wild animal has been trapped in a residential house on Saturday, officials said. An official said that the panther attacked 63-year-old Harishankar Meena on the terrace of his house and another elderly Ram Vilas Meena in the Mahavir Nagar Extension area.
Both the men were injured in the attack and have been admitted to the new hospital of the medical college for treatment. Locals said that after mauling the two men, the panther while roaming around was confined to the room of a residential house after the inmates locked the door from outside. In the meantime, the locals informed the local wildlife and forest officials to capture the panther.
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A forest division team of Ladpura range led by Ranger Kundan Singh, Forester Dharmendra Chaudhary, and Harendra Singh along with a team from Abheda Biological Park rushed to the spot to capture the panther. A huge crowd also thronged the spot to see the panther which is hampering the operation of the officials with police having a tough time controlling the crowd.
Kota South MLA Sandeep Sharma, and Congress councilors Anurag Gautam and Sheela Pathak have also rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. An official said that efforts are underway to capture the panther after which it will be released into the forest area. It is believed that the panther might have entered the Kota municipal limits from the nearby dense forest area of Rawatbhata where panthers and bears are found in good numbers.
