Boy fights off leopard with bare hands in Narmadapuram

Bhopal: In a remarkable display of courage, a 13-year-old boy fought off a leopard that attacked him near a well in Madhya Pradesh’s Narmadapuram district on Saturday evening. The Class 8 student not only survived the attack but also managed to shove the animal away before his family members reached the spot.

“I went to the farm near our house when a leopard suddenly appeared before me. I did not know what to do. I grappled with the animal and shouted at the top of my voice. My relatives rushed to my aid,” Satyam Thakur told TOI after being discharged from hospital on Sunday.

The incident took place at around 7pm on Saturday in Kursi Khapa village under Pipariya forest beat limits.

Family members said Satyam went near a well located less than 200 metres from his house when a leopard emerged from nearby bushes and attacked him. In the struggle that followed, the boy grabbed the animal by the neck and pushed it away even as the leopard’s claws left injuries on his hands and legs. Hearing his screams, relatives rushed towards the spot with sticks, forcing the animal to flee into the nearby forest.

“As soon as we received information about the incident late on Saturday, our teams rushed to the spot and took the boy to Pipariya hospital. He was discharged by doctors on Sunday, and we dropped him home. We advised villagers to stay alert and not go near the jungles where wild animals forage,” a forest officer told TOI.