A man fought and killed a leopard in Anantaprasad village in the Narasinghpur forest division of Cuttack district on Friday night in a rare show of bravery and survival.

Subhranshu Bhol, 23, suffered grievous injuries during the fight with the animal. He was seriously injured on his head and face and was admitted to the SCB Medical
College for treatment. The incident took place around 1am on Saturday.

Assistant conservator of forest (ACF) Manoj Patra told The Telegraph: “We received a report around 2am about a fight between a man and a leopard. When we rushed to the spot, we found the man was profusely bleeding and the leopard was lying dead inside the premises. An investigation is under way. As per the preliminary reports, there was a fight between the youth and the leopard during which the leopard was killed. We have seized the leopard carcass.”

Patra said: “The leopard entered the village around 10pm. It moved around the village till midnight before entering the farmhouse. It had also entered a godown and destroyed some cement bags.”

Subhranshu’s father Sudarshan Bhol said: “Around midnight, I received a call from my son saying he had been seriously injured in a leopard attack at the farmhouse. When I rushed to the place, I found my son bleeding and the leopard dead.”

He added that: “Two dogs that were in the farmhouse started barking loudly after the leopard entered the premises. When my son opened the door, the leopard suddenly
jumped at him. Both struggled inside the room. In an attempt to save his life, my son
grabbed a kitchen knife used for cutting vegetables and stabbed the leopard, killing it. He sustained severe injuries on his legs, hands, face and abdomen during the fight. He had to do something to save his life.”