Sigh of relief for Charaideo villagers as leopard caged after 3-week terror

Dibrugarh: Residents of Rohan Pathar village in the Sapekhati area of Charaideo breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday morning after a leopard, which had been terrorising the locality for the past three weeks, was successfully trapped by the forest department.The adult leopard had become a constant source of fear for the villagers, frequently venturing into human settlements. According to locals, the big cat had not only preyed on livestock, but had also turned aggressive towards humans.Forest officials had deployed an iron cage at a strategic location in Rohan Pathar three days ago, using a live bait to lure the predator. The breakthrough finally came early Sunday morning, when the leopard walked right into the trap, triggering the sliding door.“The leopard had been creating havoc for the last three weeks. We lost several goats and cows, and after the attack on a villager, we had been living in constant fear. We are thankful that the forest department acted swiftly,” Aniruddha Borah, a local resident said.Shortly after its capture, while forest officials arrived to secure the area, the leopard paced up and down restlessly inside the cage. “The leopard will undergo a physical check-up by veterinary experts to ensure it is healthy. Once cleared, it will be released into a deep forest range,” a forest official said.