The state forest department on Wednesday placed cages and installed CCTV cameras at Dakshin Kherkata village in Jalpaiguri district, where a leopard had killed a boy on Tuesday evening.
A team of foresters reached the village in the Nagrakata block and installed four cages in different places to trap the leopard that had strayed into Dakshin Kherkata. Six CCTV cameras were also installed in various locations to monitor the animal’s movement, which is suspected to be roaming in the locality.
“It is an unfortunate event. We have laid the cages and have installed CCTV cameras to trap the animal. The villagers are worried, but we have assured them of all help and stepped up vigil in and around the area. Soon, an awareness camp will be organised in the hamlet to apprise the residents of how they can keep themselves safe from leopard attacks,” said an officer of the Jalpaiguri forest division.
Ashmit Roy, 12, was returning home from a shop when a leopard pounced on him and dragged him into the bush at Dakshin Kherkata. The boy was found in a bush, bleeding profusely.
Local people rushed Ashmit to the rural hospital in Sulkapara, where doctors pronounced him dead.
After the attack, villagers are worried about their safety.
Jayanta Mondal, the additional divisional forest officer of the Jalpaiguri
division, reached the village on Wednesday. He took a stock of the situation and said that the forest department would soon hand over the cash compensation to the family of the boy.
A section of villagers is disgruntled with the forest department. They have said that during the past 11 months, that is, since October last year, Ashmit is the fourth child to die in a leopard attack in Jalpaiguri district and the third in the Nagrakata block.
“How long will we have to stay indoors? These days, leopards are sneaking into
villages regularly in search of easy prey and attacking children and even adults. The forest department should take some effective steps to prevent the animals from walking out of the forests,” said a villager.
