A seven-year-old boy was killed in a leopard attack in Uttar Pradesh's Dhaurahra forest range, officials said on Monday, as the human-wildlife conflict in the Dudhwa buffer zone continued to intensify. The incident took place on Sunday evening in Laljipurwa village under the Isanagar police station area when a leopard attacked the boy, Shubham, while he was accompanying his father to irrigate their agricultural field, they said.
According to police, the leopard emerged from nearby vegetation and mauled the child. The animal fled after his father and other villagers raised an alarm and chased it away.
Shubham was rushed to the Khamaria Community Health Centre, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
Dudhwa Buffer Zone Deputy Director Kirti Choudhary confirmed the incident and expressed condolences to the bereaved family.
She said the forest teams equipped with cages and cameras had been deployed in the area to trace and capture the leopard.
This latest incident takes the number of human deaths in big-cat attacks in the Dudhwa buffer zone this year to seven, including six fatalities in leopard attacks and one in a tiger attack. Around half a dozen people have also been injured in leopard attacks during the period, officials said.
Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Manoj Tiwari said forest and revenue officials visited the village and advised residents to avoid venturing out alone during dusk and night hours.
Following the incident, angry villagers staged a protest on the Khamaria-Isanagar road near Lajipurwa, demanding immediate capture of the leopard.
Deputy SP (Dhaurahra) Shamsher Bahadur Singh, along with police personnel from Dhaurahra, Khamaria and Isanagar reached the spot and pacified the protestors.
Dhaurahra BJP MLA Vinod Shankar Awasthi also visited the village, expressed condolences to the family and assured residents that appropriate action would be taken by the forest department.
The protest was withdrawn after assurances from the administration and local representatives. The body was later sent for a post-mortem examination, officials said.
