Patna, Jan. 3: Saharsa divisional forest officers have been asked to lodge a complaint against villagers who were involved in attacking a leopard which had strayed into their area.

Villagers attacked the feline with bows and arrows in Muradpur village under Nauhatta police station of the district on Sunday evening. The leopard also retaliated and injured three villagers in the incident. The adult leopard died after getting injured.

Giving details of the incident, the regional chief conservator of forest (RCCF) of Bhagalpur, S.K. Singh told The Telegraph: “The leopard appears to have strayed into the area from Hanuman Nagar district of Nepal, around 90km north of the place of occurrence. The feline was hiding in a bush when villagers noticed it. The leopard retaliated when villagers attacked the animal with bows and arrows.” The RCCF said he has directed the Saharsa divisional forest officers to lodge a complaint against villagers under the relevant provisions of the Wildlife (protection) Act, as the leopard is a Schedule I animal and its killing is a serious offence.

The body of the leopard was brought to Saharsa where an autopsy was conducted at a government hospital.

Two similar incidents were reported from the state last year. In the first incident in May 2010, residents pierced a leopard to death near Valmki Tiger Reserve. In the second incident, villagers killed a leo-pard in Vaishali in June 2010.

“The rate at which we are losing leopards, they may beat the tiger in the extinction race. At present, we are losing more than a leopard a day,” said Prerna Singh Bindra, a member of national board of wildlife.