Leopard attacks forest officials and villagers in Dhar

Indore: A leopard strayed into Dehariya settlement in Dhamnod forest range on Wednesday morning, injuring five persons, including forest department personnel and a local woman.According to forest officials, the leopard emerged suddenly from the bushes and attacked villagers before retreating. When a forest department team arrived for a search operation, the leopard pounced on the personnel. Those injured were forest guards Daddu Singh, Mahesh Vaskel, Gyarsi Lal Solanki, Kantabai Rathore, and Vikas Dawar.Dr Bablu Nigwal of Dhamnod civil hospital said that after receiving primary treatment, all five were referred to Dhar District Hospital for further care.The leopard later got trapped inside a drainage pipe beneath a bridge on the Old AB Road. DFO Vejayanantham TR confirmed that teams have barricaded both sides of the road. "We have used an earth moving machine to block one end of the pipe and placed a cage with a net at the other," he said.A rescue operation involving over 30 personnel led by DFO was going on till the time of filing this report. A specialized rescue team from Indore was also called in to assist.Officials said that while leopards were common in the nearby Vindhyachal and Mandav hills, this is for the first time one has entered this specific settlement. Residents have been advised to remain indoors and stay alert.