An 18-year-old in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district fought off a leopard that attacked him near his home and killed the animal by smashing its jaws with stones after a struggle that lasted more than 10 minutes.
Pravesh Sharma, a second-year Industrial Training Institute (ITI) student, was attacked around 7 am on Monday while crossing fields in Sarli village in Arki to collect milk.
The leopard pounced a few metres from his house. Recounting the incident, Sharma said he tried to stop the animal from biting his neck and grabbed the leopard by its jaws during the struggle.
The man said that he smashed the leopard's jaws and claws with stones after a struggle lasting over 10 minutes, all the while shouting for help.
Sharma suffered injuries on his hands, shoulders, legs, arms and face. Villagers took him to the Arki hospital, where he was treated and discharged the same day. Forest officials later gave him Rs 5,000 as immediate relief and as recognition of his bravery.
The area has seen leopard sightings and attacks in recent weeks. On March 6, a biker was attacked, after which villagers complained to forest officials and asked for trap cages to be set up.
In December 2025, one person was killed and nine others were injured in leopard attacks in Chandyal, Badhyal and Malvana villages in the Balh area of Mandi district. The leopard involved in those attacks was later killed by villagers.