Dibrugarh, Aug. 25: A mob chased and killed a leopard that had strayed into Kakopathar town in Tinsukia and attacked five, including a septuagenarian, in the neighbourhood.

The first to spot the animal was Phulbai Jain, the 70-year-old mother of businessman Gopal Jain.

The leopard had crept inside Gopal’s godown, in the backyard of their residence.

Phulbai saw the animal on her way to the bathroom around 5 this morning.

“Initially, I thought it was a monkey, but then I let out a cry when I realised that it was a leopard,” Phulbai said.

The leopard leapt on Phulbai, injuring her.

It then began attacking one person after the other — first entering the compound of one Bishnu Dey in the neighbourhood and wounding him critically.

The animal then leapt on Nikhil Sutradhar and his wife Moni, and injured them.

A 14-year-old boy, Sudipto, was the next to be attacked.

“At this point, people came out of their houses with whatever weapon they could lay their hands on and chased the animal for some time, before killing it,” a resident said.

While people wondered how the animal managed to reach the town, a forest official said it might have strayed either out of Dangori reserve forest or a nearby tea estate in search of prey.

“We have sent the carcass for post-mortem. Some minor parts like nails were missing. We are conducting an investigation,” Ajit Bordoloi, the range officer of Kakopathar, said.