Balrampur: Despite the Forest Department toiling hard to bring down cases of leopard attacks in areas adjacent to the Sohelwa Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh, such incidents are on a steady rise. Recently, a 30-year-old man was injured by a man-eating leopard when he was in a field near the Saryu Canal. The victim was identified as Rakesh Kumar, a resident of the Chhitauni village of the Bankatwa range, adjacent to the forest. He has been admitted to the Community Health Centre in Shivpur and is undergoing treatment.
According to reports, the leopard was hiding near the Saryu Canal and attacked Kumar when he was going home from his farm. The wild animal ran away and disappeared into the forest upon hearing the screams of locals. In the past two months, as many as six children were killed by this man-eater. Four teams from Delhi and Kolkata are on a hunt to catch the man-eater, but in vain as the carnivore is out of their reach.
On December 4, an eight-year-old girl's mutilated body was left behind by the leopard near the Bhagwanpur Kodar village, adjacent to the Suhelwa forest. An atmosphere of panic is looming large on the villagers since the latest attack on Kumar. To protect themselves from the wild animal, they have been carrying sticks whenever they step out of their homes.
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