Leopard attacks nine including forester in Banaskantha

PALANPUR: A leopard was killed by angry villagers of Tirth village in Vav Taluka in Banaskantha district on Sunday after it injured at least nine villagers, including a forest beat guard, police said. The shocking incident took place in presence of more than 30 police jawans and a dozen forest officials.
According to forest department officials, the incident of leopard attacks took place in the wee hours of the day when some villagers were on their way to attend to nature's call.Chaman Thakore spotted the wild cat, but before he could react the animals had pounced on him. Hearing his cries, other villagers, who were nearby, came forward and were also attacked the by the leopard.
Some of the villagers intimated the area beat guard R K Purohit. Purohit too was attacked when he tried to tackle the animal. "Purohit was severely injured as he got into a physical fight with the big cat. He suffered fractures to his limbs and was admitted to a private hospital," said range forest officer B M Chaudhari. The other injured included Jidalji Thakore, Arjan Thakore, Darga Hira and three others.
However, as a major operation was underway at the village to cage the wild cat, the villagers got to the animal first. While RFO Chaudhari spoke about the leopard attacks in the morning, he was unavailable for comment when the news of the leopard killing came in. "As many as 30 police jawans and a dozen forest officials and revenue officials were present in the village to cage the animal. But, the angry villagers chased the animal with sticks and stones and killed it by late evening," said police sub-inspector AM Bariya.
A team from Indroda Nature Park in Gandhinagar was rushed to the village by afternoon with tranquilliser guns. “I directed a special team of officials and also called for extra teams to tackle the situation," said deputy conservator forest Banaskantha. A cage has been set to catch the big cat, which was later spotted near a high school in the village.