An adult leopard was trapped at Kherkatabusty of Nagrakata block in Jalpaiguri district on Tuesday morning.
Locals and foresters suspect it is the same leopard that had strayed into the area a while ago and killed two children.
The villagers, however, claimed that there are more leopards in the area.
A few months ago, Asmita Ray and Lilabati Sau were taken away by a leopard from the courtyards of their homes. Following this, foresters put up seven cages in different parts of Kherkatabusty. However, no leopard was caught in any of these traps
until Tuesday.
Mathu Oraon, a resident, heard the leopard growling in his field, where a cage and bait had been placed. Realising that the animal was close by, he informed the villagers.
Locals arrived with sticks and found the leopard trapped in the cage. Soon, hundreds gathered to catch a glimpse of the animal.
A team from the Kherkata forest beat of the Diana forest range and the Khunia forest range rescued the animal around 10am.
Locals said that the leopard was trapped near the houses of the two minors who were mauled.
Ashesh Pal, the range officer of the Diana forest range, said the rescued leopard is an adult male. “We have kept it under observation and suspect this is the leopard that killed the two children. We are still investigating,” he added.
In the past one and a half months, a total of three leopards were caught in the Nagrakata block. The other two were captured from the nearby Bamandanga-Tondu tea estate, sources said.